state

[ steyt ]
See synonyms for: statestatedstatesstating on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the condition of a person or thing, as with respect to circumstances or attributes: a state of health.

  2. the condition of matter with respect to structure, form, constitution, phase, or the like: water in a gaseous state.

  1. status, rank, or position in life; station: He dresses in a manner befitting his state.

  2. the style of living befitting a person of wealth and high rank: to travel in state.

  3. a particular condition of mind or feeling: to be in an excited state.

  4. an abnormally tense, nervous, or perturbed condition: He's been in a state since hearing about his brother's death.

  5. a politically unified people occupying a definite territory; nation.

  6. the territory, or one of the territories, of a government.

  7. Sometimes State . any of the bodies politic which together make up a federal union, as in the United States of America.

  8. the body politic as organized for civil rule and government (distinguished from church).

  9. the operations or activities of a central civil government: affairs of state.

  10. State. Also called State Department .Informal. the Department of State.

  11. Printing. a set of copies of an edition of a publication which differ from others of the same printing because of additions, corrections, or transpositions made during printing or at any time before publication.

  12. the States, Informal. the United States (usually used outside its borders): After a year's study in Spain, he returned to the States.

adjective
  1. of or relating to the central civil government or authority.

  2. made, maintained, or chartered by or under the authority of one of the commonwealths that make up a federal union: a state highway;a state bank.

  1. characterized by, attended with, or involving ceremony: a state dinner.

  2. used on or reserved for occasions of ceremony.

verb (used with object),stat·ed, stat·ing.
  1. to declare definitely or specifically: She stated her position on the case.

  2. to set forth formally in speech or writing: to state a hypothesis.

  1. to set forth in proper or definite form: to state a problem.

  2. to say.

  3. to fix or settle, as by authority.

Idioms about state

  1. lie in state, (of a corpse) to be exhibited publicly with honors before burial: The president's body lay in state for two days.

  2. state of mind. See entry at state of mind.

Origin of state

1
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English noun stat(e), partly from estat estate, partly from Latin status “condition” (see status); the meanings in defs. 7-11 derive from Latin status (rērum) ) “state (of things)” or status (reī pūblicae) “state (of the republic)”

synonym study For state

1. State, condition, situation, status are terms for existing circumstances or surroundings. State is the general word, often with no concrete implications or material relationships: the present state of affairs. Condition carries an implication of a relationship to causes and circumstances: The conditions made flying impossible. Situation suggests an arrangement of circumstances, related to one another and to the character of a person: He was master of the situation. Status carries official or legal implications; it suggests a complete picture of interrelated circumstances as having to do with rank, position, standing, a stage reached in progress, etc.: the status of negotiations. 19. See maintain.

word story For state

The history of the English noun state is complicated. It derives from both Old French and Latin. The Old French noun is estat, estate “general state or condition (material, bodily, moral, mental),” also the source of the English word estate “landed property.” Estat is a normal French development from Latin status “a standing, stance, physical state or circumstances, (public) order.” Latin status derives from the verb stāre “to stand,” from the very widespread Proto-Indo-European root stā- (and its many extensions) “to stand,” source of Greek histánai (from prehistoric sistánai with reduplication), Germanic (Old English) standan (English stand ), and Slavic (Polish) stać.
The e in estat is called a prothetic e ( prothetikós means “prefixed” in Greek). The prothetic e appears in the Romance languages of France (French, Provençal), and the Iberian Peninsula (Castilian, Portuguese, Catalan), and in Logudorese (the most conservative dialect of the Sardinian language). For example, Latin schola “school” appears as école in French (from earlier escole ), escòla in Provençal, escuela in Castilian, escola in Portuguese and Catalan, and iscola in Logudorese. The prothetic e was never common in Italy except to avoid ungainly consonant clusters; thus Italian la scuola “the school” becomes per iscuola “for school.” Prothesis persists in modern Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan: “station” is estación, estação, and estació, respectively, but it is no longer productive in French (“station” is station ) or Italian ( stazione ). Prothesis has never been common in Romanian (“school” is şcoală ).

Other words for state

Other words from state

  • stat·a·ble, state·a·ble, adjective
  • an·ti·state, adjective
  • coun·ter·state, verb, coun·ter·stat·ed, coun·ter·stat·ing.
  • out·state, verb (used with object), out·stat·ed, out·stat·ing.
  • sub·state, noun
  • un·stat·a·ble, adjective
  • un·state·a·ble, adjective

Words Nearby state

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use state in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for state

state

/ (steɪt) /


noun
  1. the condition of a person, thing, etc, with regard to main attributes

  2. the structure, form, or constitution of something: a solid state

  1. any mode of existence

  2. position in life or society; estate

  3. ceremonious style, as befitting wealth or dignity: to live in state

  4. a sovereign political power or community

  5. the territory occupied by such a community

  6. the sphere of power in such a community: affairs of state

  7. (often capital) one of a number of areas or communities having their own governments and forming a federation under a sovereign government, as in the US

  8. (often capital) the body politic of a particular sovereign power, esp as contrasted with a rival authority such as the Church

  9. obsolete a class or order; estate

  10. informal a nervous, upset, or excited condition (esp in the phrase in a state)

  11. lie in state (of a body) to be placed on public view before burial

  12. state of affairs a situation; present circumstances or condition

  13. state of play the current situation

adjective
  1. controlled or financed by a state: state university

  2. of, relating to, or concerning the State: State trial

  1. involving ceremony or concerned with a ceremonious occasion: state visit

verb(tr; may take a clause as object)
  1. to articulate in words; utter

  2. to declare formally or publicly: to state one's innocence

  1. to resolve

Origin of state

1
C13: from Old French estat, from Latin status a standing, from stāre to stand

Derived forms of state

  • statable or stateable, adjective
  • statehood, noun

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with state

state

In addition to the idiom beginning with state

  • state of the art

also see:

  • in a lather (state)
  • in state
  • ship of state

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