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Iowa

American  
[ahy-uh-wuh, ahy-uh-wey] / ˈaɪ ə wə, ˈaɪ əˌweɪ /

noun

Iowas plural
  1. a state in the central United States: a part of the Midwest. 56,290 sq. mi. (145,790 sq. km). Des Moines. IA (approved esp. for use with zip code), Ia., Io.

  2. a river flowing southeast from northern Iowa to the Mississippi River. 291 miles (470 km) long.

  3. a member of an American Indian people originally of Iowa, Missouri, and Minnesota but now of Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Kansas.

  4. the Siouan language spoken by the Iowa Indians.


Iowa British  
/ ˈaɪəʊə /

noun

  1. Abbreviation: Ia..   IA.  a state of the N central US, in the Midwest: consists of rolling plains crossed by many rivers, with the Missouri forming the western border and the Mississippi the eastern. Capital: Des Moines. Pop: 2 944 062 (2003 est). Area: 144 887 sq km (55 941 sq miles)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Iowa Cultural  
  1. State in the midwestern United States bordered by Minnesota to the north, Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Missouri to the south, and Nebraska and South Dakota to the west. Its capital and largest city is Des Moines.


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.

“We talked about my life experience in Iowa, and then I kind of knew from the beginning what I wanted, so I made those desires clear to her,” Berry said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

Kirk also bowed out of scheduled appearances in Plano, Texas, and at Iowa State University.

From Salon • May 17, 2026

The attorneys general from Florida, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, West Virginia and Louisiana said Altman “has a history of self-dealing and serious conflicts of interest that have created significant risk for the company.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

Inland states like Iowa and Nebraska have also seen sharp cost hikes as climate risks mount.

From Barron's • May 11, 2026

I’ve been lucky enough to get to walk into stone castles, urban classrooms, and Iowa kitchens, just trying to be myself, just trying to connect.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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