Tennessee

American  

[ten-uh-see] / ˌtɛn əˈsi /

noun

1. a state in the southeastern United States. 42,246 sq. mi. (109,415 sq. km). Nashville. TN (for use with zip code), Tenn.

2. a river flowing from eastern Tennessee through northern Alabama, western Tennessee, and southwestern Kentucky into the Ohio near Paducah. 652 miles (1,050 km) long.

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Tennessee British  

/ ˌtɛnɪˈsiː /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Tenn.   TN.  a state of the E central US: consists of a plain in the west, rising to the Appalachians and the Cumberland Plateau in the east. Capital: Nashville. Pop: 5 841 748 (2003 est). Area: 109 412 sq km (42 244 sq miles)

2. a river in the E central US, flowing southwest from E Tennessee into N Alabama, then west and north to the Ohio River at Paducah: the longest tributary of the Ohio; includes a series of dams and reservoirs under the Tennessee Valley Authority. Length: 1049 km (652 miles)

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Tennessee Cultural  

1. State in the south-central United States bordered by Kentucky and Virginia to the north; North Carolina to the east; Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south; and Arkansas and Missouri to the west. Its capital is Nashville, and its largest city is Memphis.

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One of the Confederate states during the Civil War.

Example Sentences

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Tennessee

News is reacting to what students and families are saying they want from college, said Robert Kelchen, a professor who studies higher education at the University of Tennessee.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

Paramount held talks with officials in Tennessee, people familiar with the discussions said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

“There is also the possibility that Ellison is planning to move Paramount to Tennessee regardless of how the lawsuit resolves,” the group wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

In the largest settlement reviewed by the BBC, the University of Tennessee agreed to pay $1.9m to resolve a lawsuit brought by anthropologist Tamar Shirinian, over her "better off" comment.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

His mother, wanting the best for him, sent him off to learn a trade in Tennessee under the watchful eye of a white tailor there.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield