North Carolina

American  

noun

1. a state in the southeastern United States, on the Atlantic coast. 52,586 square miles (136,198 square kilometers). Raleigh. NC (for use with zip code), N.C.

---

North Carolina British  

noun

1. Abbreviation: N.C..   NC.  a state of the southeastern US, on the Atlantic: consists of a coastal plain rising to the Piedmont Plateau and the Appalachian Mountains in the west. Capital: Raleigh. Pop: 8 407 248 (2003 est). Area: 126 387 sq km (48 798 sq miles)

---

North Carolina Cultural  

1. State in the southeastern United States bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina and Georgia to the south, and Tennessee to the west. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte.

---

Discover More

One of the Confederate states during the Civil War.

One of the thirteen colonies.

Other Word Forms

• North Carolinian adjective

Example Sentences

They need four seats to win back the chamber, and party leaders have highlighted North Carolina, Maine, Ohio and Alaska as the most plausible path.

From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026

Communities from California to North Carolina are wrestling with how to rebuild and who should pay after natural disasters.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Again, this would be a vast departure from historical practice in North Carolina and other states.

From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026

The news of his flight had traveled across 200 miles, alerting the white residents of central North Carolina.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

A few years before, Ann had taken to slipping out of the house with a wild group that included French—wild by the standards of rural North Carolina in the 1950s, anyway.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson