Delaware

American  

[del-uh-wair] / ˈdɛl əˌwɛər /

noun

plural

Delawares,

plural

Delaware

1. Baron. De La Warr, 12th Baron.

2. a state in the eastern United States, on the Atlantic coast. 2,057 square miles (5,330 square kilometers). Dover. DE (for use with zip code), Del.

3. a city in central Ohio.

4. a river flowing south from southeastern New York, along the boundary between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, into the Delaware Bay. 296 miles (475 kilometers) long.

5. a member of a grouping of North American Indian peoples, comprising the Munsee, Unami, and Unalachtigo, formerly occupying the drainage basin of the Delaware River, the lower Hudson River valley, and the intervening area.

6. the Eastern Algonquian language of any of the Delaware peoples.

7. Horticulture.

   1. a red vinifera grape grown for table use that yields a white wine.

   2. the vine bearing this fruit.

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Delaware ¹ British  

/ ˈdɛləˌwɛə /

noun

1. a member of a North American Indian people formerly living near the Delaware River

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Algonquian family

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Delaware ² British  

/ ˈdɛləˌwɛə /

noun

1. an American variety of grape that has sweet light red fruit

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Delaware ³ British  

/ ˈdɛləˌwɛə /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Del..   DE.  a state of the northeastern US, on the Delmarva Peninsula: mostly flat and low-lying, with hills in the extreme north and cypress swamps in the extreme south. Capital: Dover. Pop: 817 491 (2003 est). Area: 5004 sq km (1932 sq miles)

2. a river in the northeastern US, rising in the Catskill Mountains and flowing south into Delaware Bay , an inlet of the Atlantic. Length 660 km (410 miles)

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Delaware Cultural  

1. State in the eastern United States bordered by Pennsylvania to the north, Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and Maryland to the west and south. Its capital is Dover, and its largest city is Wilmington.

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Discover More

One of the thirteen colonies.

Etymology

Origin of Delaware

First recorded in 1720–30 in reference to the American Indian peoples

Example Sentences

The survey covers businesses in the Philly Fed’s district, which includes Delaware and parts of eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

Hundreds of people in Kansas and Delaware will be affected.

From Salon • Mar. 19, 2026

The president visited Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday, where the remains of six U.S. service members killed in the crash of a refueling aircraft were returned to their families.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

It was the second time since the start of the conflict that Trump has traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where the remains of US troops are returned to American soil.

From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026

“Encyclopedia. I want to see when the Pennsylvania Railroad built this nice long track through the peninsula. I’d have to go into Delaware to pick it up, but it would take me right into Pennsylvania.”

From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler