Oregon

[awr-i-guh n, ‐gon, or‐]

noun

a state in the NW United States, on the Pacific coast. 96,981 sq. mi. (251,180 sq. km). Capital: Salem. Abbreviation: Oreg., Ore., OR (for use with zip code).
a city in NW Ohio.

Origin of Oregon

First recorded in 1870–75

Related formsOr·e·go·ni·an

[awr-i-goh-nee-uh n, or‐] /ˌɔr ɪˈgoʊ ni ən, ˌɒr‐/, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for oregon

Contemporary Examples of oregon

Electric Swamp Blues How can you possibly find authentic swamp blues in Portland, Oregon?
The Best Albums of 2014
Ted Gioia
December 13, 2014
As southern California turns to desert western Canada could follow Oregon and Washington states as a contender in top class wines.
Beer Countries vs. Wine Countries
Clive Irving
December 7, 2014
There was a logic to it – many of the wines were from the Pacific Northwest, principally from Oregon and Washington state.
Beer Countries vs. Wine Countries
Clive Irving
December 7, 2014
Cvetkovich claimed her husband had kidnapped her two young children and took off for Oregon in search of Masters.
The Godfather of Right-Wing Radio
Caitlin Dickson
November 23, 2014
Seventy three percent of students at David Douglas High School in Portland, Oregon are low-income.
What It Takes to Fix American Education
Jonah Edelman
November 23, 2014

Historical Examples of oregon

Take the persons whom Parkman describes in his Oregon Trail.
The American Mind
Bliss Perry
There are in Oregon three classes of women opposed to suffrage.
The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV
Various
It is found on the plains from Nebraska to Oregon and south to Mexico.
Boy Scouts Handbook
Boy Scouts of America
The Oregon Trail, it must be remembered, is essentially an ox-team trail.
Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail
Ezra Meeker
The other vacancy was a mastership in a school in Portland, Oregon.
Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 22, September, 1878
Various

British Dictionary definitions for oregon

Oregon

noun

a state of the northwestern US, on the Pacific: consists of the Coast and Cascade Ranges in the west and a plateau in the east; important timber production. Capital: Salem. Pop: 3 559 596 (2003 est). Area: 251 418 sq km (97 073 sq miles)Abbreviation: Oreg., (with zip code) OR

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for oregon

Oregon

1765 as the name of a large river in the west of North America, probably the modern Columbia; of uncertain and disputed origin. It seems to be of Algonquian origin. From 1848 as the name of a U.S. territory (admitted as a state 1859).

oregon in Culture

Oregon

State in the northwestern United States bordered by Washington to the north, Idaho to the east, Nevada and California to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Its capital is Salem, and its largest city is Portland.

Note

Before the coming of the railroads, the Oregon Trail was used as an overland emigration route from the Missouri River to the Columbia River country (all of which was then called Oregon).