nation
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.
nation
1 American
[ney-shuhn]
/ ˈneɪ ʃən /
noun
-
nations
plural
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- realm, kingdom, commonwealth, state
-
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.
Nation
2
American
[ney-shuhn]
/ ˈneɪ ʃən /
noun
nation
British
/ ˈneɪʃən /
noun
-
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
-
Synonym Usage
See race 2.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
Explanation
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.
Vocabulary lists containing nation
Human Geography - Middle School
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Michelle Obama's Speech at the 2016 DNC
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Human Geography - High School
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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.
See Examples For:
He insisted it was "entirely humanitarian", but added that the West African nation would be getting US support to manage the programme and broadly strengthen the migration system.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Lessons need to be learned about the way the nation deals with wildfires if more are likely in the future due to climate change, a government minister has admitted.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Federal law protects “historic buildings, parks, and places, including perhaps the most revered site in our nation: the White House and President’s Park,” the group told the court Tuesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Khan was voted in by millions of Pakistanis who grew up watching him play cricket, where he excelled as an all-rounder and led the nation to a World Cup victory in 1992.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Suddenly we realized that in order to lead our nation forward and keep the world safe, we would have to write our own.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
English-language news site Nation Thailand reports that the boys' mother and older sister had been waiting on the beach when the trio were brought back to safety.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Merch Traffic, owned by Live Nation, filed a lawsuit against counterfeiters in April, accusing them of undercutting Bruce Springsteen’s products with knockoff T-shirts and caps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
And in 2018, one wing of the Nation Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro burned down with the loss of many fossil specimens that were on display.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
Brooke Warner, publisher of She Writes Press and co-host of the Memoir Nation podcast, says this has put pressure on memoirists to push the envelope and find ever-more-shocking traumas to mine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
I practically needed an Iguanador Nation force shield to protect me.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
"We do have peaks and troughs in performance. Most nations do if you look at it," England Hockey chief executive Rich Beer told BBC Sport.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Meanwhile, the market may also be becoming more concerned about the high budget deficits of many developed nations, which may need to be serviced by increased supply of debt.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
But within the Church, the establishment of the fund has encountered resistance, just as the global push for nations to pay reparations has done.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Other East Asian nations experienced similar explosive growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Europe’s invaded countries set up governments in exile in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, to make war plans as a group of “Allied” nations fighting together against German aggression.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
