State of the Union address

Cultural  

1. An annual message delivered to Congress by the president of the United States, in which he describes the condition of the country, outlines the nation's most serious problems, and proposes his annual program of legislation.

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The name of the address comes from a provision in the Constitution that the president “shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”

Example Sentences

Remember the 2020 State of the Union address?

From The Wall Street Journal

President Jimmy Carter used his 1980 State of the Union address to articulate a proactive new American position toward the region, centered on the strait.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I think we’ve got to end the practice of drawing our congressional districts so that politicians can pick their voters and not the other way around,” Mr. Obama said during his last State of the Union address.

From The Wall Street Journal

Even George W. Bush — the bumbling boardwalk caricature that he is — could deliver a State of the Union address without going off-prompter.

From Salon

In his 2026 State of the Union address, he asserted his resolve to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, as prior presidents had done, and expressed, as they also had, his preference for achieving this goal diplomatically.

From The Wall Street Journal