microstate

[mahy-kroh-steyt]

noun

1. ministate.

microstate

/ ˈmaɪkrəʊˌsteɪt /

noun

1. Also called: mini-state. a very small nation that is an internationally-recognized sovereign state

Word History and Origins

Origin of microstate¹

First recorded in 1965–70; micro- + state

Example Sentences

There are just five nations ranked below the microstate in the world rankings, including the US and British Virgin Islands and San Marino.

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The first comes, not surprisingly, from San Marino – the independent microstate that nestles inside north-central Italy.

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Though the company is headquartered in Vancouver, its application is sponsored by the Pacific microstate of Nauru, via a wholly owned subsidiary in that country — an arrangement that allows it to take advantage of the ISA’s policy of holding surveyed areas in trust for developing nations.

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Its gravity creates a microstate for the black hole.

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The call for Russian protection by Transnistria, a self-declared but internationally unrecognized microstate on the eastern bank of the Dniester River, escalated tensions that date to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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