Colonies
Britishplural noun
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the subject territories formerly in the British Empire
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history the 13 states forming the original United States of America when they declared their independence (1776). These were Connecticut, North and South Carolina, Delaware, Georgia, New Hampshire, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and New Jersey
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Twelve Colonies fall because the machines hacked all their systems.
From Salon • May 5, 2026
“We need to remember that the 13 Colonies and the 13 states created the federal government,” he said on Fox News in 2024, in an interview about the border.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2026
Colonies exposed to higher peak air temperatures and greater internal temperature variation experienced declines in population size.
From Science Daily • Jan. 13, 2026
Wall panels remind us of the Townshend Acts, the Tea Act and the Boston Massacre, all seminal events that led the Colonies to eventually break away from Britain.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025
They kept the Colonies in touch with each other through secret correspondence and later would help make united action possible.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
