Kansas
Americannoun
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a state in the central United States: a part of the Midwest. 82,276 sq. mi. (213,094 sq. km). Topeka. KS (for use with zip code), Kans., Kan., Kas.
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a river in northeastern Kansas, flowing east to the Missouri River. 169 miles (270 km) long.
noun
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In the 1850s, the state came to be known as “bleeding Kansas” because of the violence between hostile free-staters and pro-slavery settlers.
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 upside is that he was picked by the Kansas City Chiefs and has only Justin Fields to battle for the job of backing up the injured Patrick Mahomes.
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026
The top three places went to Altria Group, Vulcan Materials and Kansas City Southern, whose executives haven’t made our lists.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026
But having that in the AFC West, with Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, Denver’s Bo Nix and No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza heading to Las Vegas, turning up the heat on quarterbacks is especially important.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2026
Patrick Janssen, a fellow farmer and rancher in Kinsley, Kansas, shared the sentiment, saying that the relief added a 3% increase in his gross revenue, just covering his losses for the year.
From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026
No one ever treated me like I was different in Kansas.
From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling
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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.