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
[nay-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
[nay-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:
After criss-crossing the vast nation in recent weeks, the two men are making a final push for votes in the key southeastern battlegrounds of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
Jeff Bezos appears to now be wearing all the Amazon returns from every single sorority’s themed rush parties from across the nation.
From Slate ● Oct. 3, 2026
The cloud-computing giant published a memorandum Friday calling the fight for AI dominance “the race our nation can’t afford to lose” and laying out initiatives to support the communities where it is building data centers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
We’ve crossed it at all hours in every kind of weather, on foot, on bikes and in cars, talking about school, work, family and, lately, the fractured state of the nation and world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
During that era our nation was focused on the goal of supersonic flight, which means that the speed of the airplane is faster than the speed of sound.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
The upper house, the Council of the Nation, will review the law before it is officially ratified by the president.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
The American Independent and One Nation did not respond to an AFP request for comment.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
She also told investors she was sending inventory to retailers such as Target and Walmart, and was receiving large infusions of money from companies such as Apple Inc. and Roc Nation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
For example, Jason Galanis, who pled guilty to defrauding the Oglala Sioux Nation, had paid just over $2 million of his $80 million restitution before his sentence was commuted and the restitution erased in 2025.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
My father is standing to my right and Nation is to my left, holding the certificate rolled up like a baton.
From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda
Along with some other EU nations, Hungary experienced its driest summer since records began in 1901 and its second-hottest on record, according to national weather service HungaroMet.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
Separately on Friday, the G7 nations agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil to head off further increases.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
European nations have yet to put much of their reserves onto the market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
He remains head of state in the archipelago nations of the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda, a role that is largely ceremonial.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Sometimes a culture of conquest moves against people within its own society, and sometimes it moves against other nations or groups on other continents.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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.
