Pennsylvania

American  

[pen-suhl-veyn-yuh, -vey-nee-uh] / ˌpɛn səlˈveɪn jə, -ˈveɪ ni ə /

noun

1. a state in the eastern United States. 45,333 sq. mi. (117,410 sq. km). Harrisburg. PA (for use with zip code), Pa., Penn., Penna.

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Pennsylvania British  

/ ˌpɛnsɪlˈveɪnɪə /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Pa.   Penn.   Penna.   PA.  a state of the northeastern US: almost wholly in the Appalachians, with the Allegheny Plateau to the west and a plain in the southeast; the second most important US state for manufacturing. Capital: Harrisburg. Pop: 12 365 455 (2003 est). Area: 116 462 sq km (44 956 sq miles)

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Pennsylvania Cultural  

1. State in the northeastern United States bordered by Lake Erie and New York to the north; New Jersey to the east; Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia to the south; and Ohio to the west. Its capital is Harrisburg, and its largest city is Philadelphia.

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Named after the father of William Penn, a devout Quaker, who was granted proprietary rights by the king of England to almost the whole of what is now Pennsylvania in the late seventeenth century.

One of the thirteen colonies.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Pennsylvania

Twenty-seven states allow the death penalty, but governors in four of them — California, Ohio, Oregon and Pennsylvania — have paused executions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Last week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported our Commonwealth’s first two measles-associated deaths in 35 years.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

A joint exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts highlights the rich history of American painting, sculpture, design and more.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann noted in a post on Bluesky that other factors, such as volcanic and solar activity, could explain patterns seen in the coral record.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

He’d grown up in New York City, gone to yeshiva schools, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania magna cum laude, and then with honors from Harvard Law School.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis