nation
1 Americannoun
-
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.
noun
noun
-
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
-
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
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.
He theorises that inequality exists in a nation founded on pro-black, pan-African principles because a deference for whiteness was hard-wired into the region, long before independence.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
The hunt for two-year-old Neukgu gripped the nation before he was finally caught near an expressway last week, nine days after his escape.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
President Ronald Reagan informed the nation from the White House Briefing Room that he had ordered U.S. troops to the Caribbean island of Grenada.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
Four days later, Carney addressed the nation displaying a figurine of Gen. Isaac Brock, who repelled U.S. forces invading what is today Canada in the War of 1812.
From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026
Except for France and Switzerland, every nation in Europe was a monarchy, and almost every European head of state was related to every other.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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.
