nationwide
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of nationwide
Explanation
Something nationwide refers to or covers the whole country. A nationwide shortage of wheat would affect everyone in every single state. A gossipy news story about a presidential candidate might cause a nationwide scandal, if everyone in the whole country were talking about it. And if a drought seemed to be spreading nationwide, farmers from Maine to California would start to worry about that year's crops. Nationwide combines nation, from the Latin nationem, "origin" or "race of people," and wide, from its "extending through the whole of" meaning.
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.
Deteriorating living standards and rampant inflation led to nationwide protests that shook the Islamic Republic in January.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
In 2024 the Liushenyu mine was named by the Chinese National Mine Safety Administration in a nationwide list of coal mines with "severe hazards", state media reported.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
It is rare for a movie to earn more on its second weekend in nationwide release than its first.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026
The installation of lead service lines was banned nationwide in 1986, but millions of homes still receive tap water through them.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
In the cases where the Supreme Court had previously granted relief under the Eighth Amendment, the number of sentences challenged usually totaled fewer than a hundred or so nationwide.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
