Nation
1 Americannoun
noun
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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
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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 most vigorous spending has come from the nation’s top 10% of earners, who have gradually come to account for nearly half of national spending.
In a letter Dec. 15, Waste Management, one of the nation’s largest waste companies, told the state the company would no longer sort cartons out of the waste stream for recycling at its Sacramento facility.
From Los Angeles Times
Her disappearance captivated and confounded true crime watchers around the nation as FBI investigators and armchair detectives alike tried to solve the puzzle of what happened to Melodee.
From Los Angeles Times
America has long had a reputation for being an optimistic, aspirational nation.
If a nation’s well-being depends on the strength of its families, America is in trouble.
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.
