lower 48

American  

[loh-er fawr-tee-eyt] / ˈloʊ ər ˈfɔr tiˈeɪt /

Or Lower 48

noun

Informal.

1. the conterminous United States.

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Etymology

Origin of lower 48

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Cheniere, shares of which hit a record on Friday, opened the first LNG export terminal in the Lower 48 states a decade ago in Louisiana.

From The Wall Street Journal

"Forests in the Lower 48 and those far up north may look very different, but they share the common currency of carbon," said Eckdahl.

From Science Daily

Bald eagles in the lower 48 were in danger of extinction by the early 1960s, shot in droves by hunters in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and poisoned by DDT after World War II.

From Los Angeles Times

The first exports from the lower 48 states began to flow in February of that year.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s taken some time, but bald eagle populations have slowly bounced back from a low of just 417 nesting pairs anywhere in the U.S. in 1963 to around 316,700 bald eagles in the lower 48 states.

From Slate