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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Discover More

One of the Confederate states during the Civil War.

Example Sentences

In Utah, the governor has signed two related bills into law, and in Tennessee and Indiana, bills are awaiting their governors’ signature.

From Salon • Apr. 10, 2026

Volkswagen will stop producing the ID.4 electric crossover at its Tennessee plant in mid-April, a casualty in the U.S. auto industry’s EV retreat.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Georgia's 14th congressional district encompasses the northwest part of the state, from the northwest Atlanta suburbs all the way up to the Tennessee border.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

“These defendants will be transported to the Northern District of Texas to face their crimes,” said D. Michael Dunavant, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

We might be almost as famous as that school in Whitwell, Tennessee, and their paper clips project—and somebody made a movie about them.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman