Ottawa

American  

[ot-uh-wuh] / ˈɒt ə wə /

noun

• Ottawas,
  plural
• Ottawa
  plural

1. a city in and the capital of Canada, in southeastern Ontario.

2. a river in southeastern Canada, flowing southeast along the boundary between Ontario and Quebec into the St. Lawrence River at Montreal. 685 miles (1,105 kilometers) long.

3. a city in northeastern Illinois, southwest of Chicago.

4. a town in eastern Kansas.

5. Also called Odawa.  a member of a tribe of Algonquian people of Canada, forced into the Lake Superior and Lake Michigan regions by the Iroquois confederacy.

6. Also called Odawa.  the Ojibwe language as used by the Ottawa.

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Ottawa British  

/ ˈɒtəwə /

noun

1. the capital of Canada, in E Ontario on the Ottawa River: name changed from Bytown to Ottawa in 1854. Pop: 774 072 (2001)

2. a river in central Canada, rising in W Quebec and flowing west, then southeast to join the St Lawrence River as its chief tributary at Montreal; forms the border between Quebec and Ontario for most of its length. Length: 1120 km (696 miles)

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Ottawa Cultural  

1. Capital of Canada, located in southeastern Ontario across the Ottawa River from Quebec.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Ottawa
  plural
• Ottawas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Ottawa

First recorded in 1660–70; from French Outaouan, or directly from Ojibwe Ota·wa· “traders”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Ottawa Ottawas

The outlook has clouded since after trade talks between Ottawa and Washington broke down and the U.S. administration in late August imposed new tariffs on imports from Canada.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

DNB said the transfer, which took place between March and August, saw 27 tonnes of gold bars moved from New York and Ottawa to Zeist in the Netherlands.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Miyashita asked Weber, who was then at Carleton University, along with two undergraduate students at the University of Ottawa, to search published research and museum databases for photographs of developing snakes.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026

An international team of researchers, led in part by the University of Ottawa, has documented a major calving event at Petermann Glacier in northwest Greenland.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026

A week later, in Ottawa, Canada, John Kennedy made the terrible mistake of trying to plant a tree.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

The French, aided by the Potawotomis, Ottawas, Shawnees, and Delawares, ambushed the fifteen hundred British soldiers and Virginia militia who marched to the fort.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 30, 2014

By the Ottawas I am called "Little Crane."

From Time Magazine Archive

The Ottawas came down to the beach, to salute them with a discharge of guns; and, on landing, they were presented with the pipe of peace.

From The Conspiracy of Pontiac and the Indian War after the Conquest of Canada by Francis Parkman

Minutes of Conference with the chiefs and warriors of the Ottawas and Menomonies at Fort Niagara, July 20, 1764.

From The Conspiracy of Pontiac and the Indian War after the Conquest of Canada by Francis Parkman

In his company were his servant and several Hurons who had come to trade with the Ottawas.

From Stories of the Badger State by Reuben Gold Thwaites