nation
1 Americannoun
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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.
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the territory or country itself.
the nations of Central America.
- Synonyms:
- realm, kingdom, commonwealth, state
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a member tribe of an American Indian confederation.
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an aggregation of persons of the same ethnic family, often speaking the same language or cognate languages.
noun
noun
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an aggregation of people or peoples of one or more cultures, races, etc, organized into a single state
the Australian nation
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a community of persons not constituting a state but bound by common descent, language, history, etc
the French-Canadian nation
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a federation of tribes, esp American Indians
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the territory occupied by such a federation
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Related Words
See race 2.
Other Word Forms
- internation adjective
- minination noun
- nationhood noun
- nationless adjective
- supernation noun
Etymology
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The euro gained against the dollar as details on how the new tariffs will be imposed, and whether trade deals signed between the U.S. and tariff-hit nations will hold, remained unclear.
The U.S. announced new global tariffs after the nation’s Supreme Court ruled that the earlier broad based tariffs were unconstitutional.
On 4 December, 2024, Yoon announced to the nation that he was declaring martial law – plunging South Korea into chaos and setting in motion a series of events that would precipitate his downfall.
From BBC
After beginning with a tribute to classic Italian opera, flagbearers representing the 92 competing nations entered the stadium through large props from Aida and accompanied by a tribute to Italian film music.
From BBC
But on that Saturday night in Studio 8H, Jackson hit the right notes to suit the nation’s post-campaign, pre-election mood, setting the bar for all politicians who followed in this wake.
From Salon
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.
