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.
an aggregation of people or peoples of one or more cultures, races, etc, organized into a single state
the Australian nation
a community of persons not constituting a state but bound by common descent, language, history, etc
the French-Canadian nation
a federation of tribes, esp American Indians
the territory occupied by such a federation
See race 2.
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
A nation is a country and its people. It's also the word used for the Native American tribal federations in the US — the Cherokee Nation, for instance — which have their own governments and territories. Nation comes from the Latin root nat-, which means "born" — the neonatal unit in a hospital is where the newborn babies are cared for. You can also use nation more loosely for ethnic or religious groups: you might speak of "the Jewish nation," meaning not just the country, or nation, of Israel, but Jews all over the world. The Nation of Islam is an African-American Muslim group.
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"The entire nation stands in solidarity with the people of Balochistan in this hour of grief," he added.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
"Our nation has been enriched by people who come to our country," said Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants.
From Barron's • May 24, 2026
“The nation is strong as is its commitment to the rule of law,” said one appellate judge, a Republican appointee.
From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2026
The interview quickly racked up over 1.1 million views in less than 24 hours and was accompanied by a flood of YouTube comments praising Owens for humanizing addiction and bringing hope to a polarized nation.
From Salon • May 23, 2026
“If Tokyo needed to be evacuated,” he later said, “I feared the entire nation of Japan would be paralyzed by chaos for quite a long time.”
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
