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nation
[ ney-shuhn ]
/ ˈneɪ ʃən /
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noun
a large body of people, associated with a particular territory, that is sufficiently conscious of its unity to seek or to possess a government peculiarly its own: The president spoke to the nation about the new tax.
the territory or country itself: the nations of Central America.
a member tribe of an American Indian confederation.
an aggregation of persons of the same ethnic family, often speaking the same language or cognate languages.
OTHER WORDS FOR nation
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Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Origin of nation
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin nātiōn- (stem of nātiō ) “birth, tribe,” equivalent to nāt(us) (past participle of nāscī “to be born”) + -iōn- -ion
synonym study for nation
1. See race2.
OTHER WORDS FROM nation
Words nearby nation
Other definitions for nation (2 of 2)
Nation
[ ney-shuhn ]
/ ˈneɪ ʃən /
noun
Carry or Carrie (Amelia Moore), 1846–1911, U.S. temperance leader.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use nation in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for nation
nation
/ (ˈneɪʃən) /
noun
an aggregation of people or peoples of one or more cultures, races, etc, organized into a single statethe Australian nation
a community of persons not constituting a state but bound by common descent, language, history, etcthe French-Canadian nation
- a federation of tribes, esp American Indians
- the territory occupied by such a federation
Derived forms of nation
nationhood, nounnationless, adjectiveWord Origin for nation
C13: via Old French from Latin nātiō birth, tribe, from nascī to be born
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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