nationwide
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of nationwide
Explanation
Something nationwide refers to or covers the whole country. A nationwide shortage of wheat would affect everyone in every single state. A gossipy news story about a presidential candidate might cause a nationwide scandal, if everyone in the whole country were talking about it. And if a drought seemed to be spreading nationwide, farmers from Maine to California would start to worry about that year's crops. Nationwide combines nation, from the Latin nationem, "origin" or "race of people," and wide, from its "extending through the whole of" meaning.
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.
That’s higher than in any year since a significant nationwide measles epidemic from 1989 to 1991.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
The country's entire electricity grid suffered "total disconnection" that triggered a nationwide outage, Cuba's energy ministry said.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
It will first debut in the Washington, D.C., area ahead of a broader nationwide rollout, according to government and industry officials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Median rent for a two-bedroom home was about $1,893 nationwide in July, not including utilities or insurance, and for a buyer today, the typical monthly mortgage payment, at current interest rates, was $2,641.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
She arranged to have the books distributed to schools and libraries nationwide.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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.
