Kansas

American  

[kan-zuhs] / ˈkæn zəs /

noun

1. 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.

2. a river in northeastern Kansas, flowing east to the Missouri River. 169 miles (270 km) long.

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Kansas British  

/ ˈkænzəs /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Kan.   Kans.   KS.  a state of the central US: consists of undulating prairie, drained chiefly by the Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri Rivers; mainly agricultural. Capital: Topeka. Pop: 2 723 507 (2003 est). Area: 213 096 sq km (82 277 sq miles)

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Kansas Cultural  

1. State in the central United States bordered by Nebraska to the north, Missouri to the east, Oklahoma to the south, and Colorado to the west. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita.

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Discover More

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

Chair Jerome Powell, Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid, and St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem have all warned in the past few weeks that longer term expectations could drift higher if inflation stays elevated.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

Kansas City’s soccer spending has sparked broader development.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt established one of the first Major League Soccer teams in Kansas City in 1995.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

“Maybe the headline is, we try to be as often in Kansas as possible,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

In 1870, the Osage—expelled from their lodges, their graves plundered—agreed to sell their Kansas lands to settlers for $1.25 an acre.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann