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Stans

American  
[shtahns] / ʃtɑns /

noun

  1. a town in and the capital of Nidwalden, in central Switzerland.

Stans 1 British  
/ ʃtans /

noun

  1. a town in central Switzerland, capital of Nidwalden demicanton, 11 km (7 miles) southeast of Lucerne: tourist centre. Pop: 6983 (2000)

"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
Stans 2 British  
/ stænz /

plural noun

  1. a region in Central Asia that consists of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Stans, however, believe the romance is a fairy tale come to life, especially for Swift, whose dating history has long been subjected to public scrutiny.

From Salon • Feb. 29, 2024

Sen. James Risch, Idaho Republican, said the U.S. should also leverage general disgust with Russia’s actions among former Soviet countries in central Asia, known as the Stans.

From Washington Times • May 16, 2023

In June 1973, Mr. Polk reported that a former Philippine ambassador to the United States had delivered $30,000 to Stans soon after the Watergate break-in.

From Washington Post • Jul. 24, 2021

Stans Superstore in Oswestry, Shropshire, is one of the largest single-site independent supermarkets in England.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2020

Even Stans pimples went white; Ern jerked the steering wheel so hard that a whole farmhouse had to jump aside to avoid the bus.

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.