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

Swing states with old-line communities like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Prospective builders will have to agree to several requirements to win state approval, the Democrat said, including an energy plan that won’t shift costs to Pennsylvania households and securing local buy-in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Meunier, now the P. B. Breneman Chair and head of the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Pennsylvania State University, is a co-corresponding author of the new study.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

Russian Makhachev dominated large portions of the fight in Pennsylvania to win by unanimous decision for a historic 17th successive UFC win, breaking Anderson Silva's 13-year record.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

God, running on that wooded trail in Chippewa Township, Pennsylvania, it fills her.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti