NATO

American  

[ney-toh, en-ey-tee-oh] / ˈneɪ toʊ, ˈɛnˈeɪˈtiˈoʊ /

abbreviation

1. North Atlantic Treaty Organization: a political and military alliance established in 1949 in Washington, D.C., by 12 countries in Europe and North America for the purpose of collective defense against aggression, now comprising 32 member nations: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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NATO British  

/ ˈneɪtəʊ /

acronym

1. North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an international organization composed of the US, Canada, Britain, and a number of European countries: established by the North Atlantic Treaty (1949) for purposes of collective security. In 1994 it launched the Partnership for Peace initiative, in order to forge alliances with former Warsaw Pact countries; in 1997 a treaty of cooperation with Russia was signed and in 1999 Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic became full NATO members

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Example Sentences

“It all began with, if you want to know the truth, Greenland,” he said of his threat to leave NATO.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

Mr. Leškevičius is a senior policy analyst at the center and a former Lithuanian ambassador to NATO.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

Macron also weighed in the president’s grumbling about leaving NATO.

From Salon • Apr. 2, 2026

In a post on X, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said he had a “constructive discussion” with Trump on Wednesday about NATO.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

Now a member of NATO, the Czech   Republic has moved toward integration in world markets, a   development that poses both opportunities and risks.

From The 2003 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency