nation-state

[ney-shuhn-steyt]

noun

1. a sovereign state inhabited by a relatively homogeneous group of people who share a feeling of common nationality.

nation-state

noun

1. an independent state inhabited by all the people of one nation and one nation only

Word History and Origins

Origin of nation-state¹

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

To be clear, nobody is going to entirely deter a nation-state from conducting espionage.

Read more on Barron's

"Imagine the implications if a nation-state took down all the networks? Or turned off the power during a heatwave? Or polluted our drinking water? Or crippled our financial system?"

Read more on BBC

That work argued that America has never been a nation-state in the sense of a France or a Germany.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

F5 in August discovered that nation-state hackers had gained long-term access to some of its systems.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“We still have the ability to do big things ... We’re the fourth-largest economy. We’re a nation-state. We need to remember that.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times