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

This April, a statue that had been removed in the state of Delaware in 2020 reappeared at Washington's central Freedom Plaza.

From Barron's • May 17, 2026

Unified complaint as a Delaware corporation purportedly based in Texas and founded on March 26, 2021.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

But Sheng Lu, a professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware, said tariffs still represent a substantial cost burden for fashion brands and retailers.

From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026

John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Chris Coons of Delaware were the only Democrats who voted to advance the nomination.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026

In 1872 one such seeker—Charles Abbott, a New Jersey physician— found stone arrowheads, scrapers, and axheads on his farm in the Delaware Valley.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann