Tamil Nadu

American

[nah-doo] / ˈnɑ du /

noun

a large state in S India: formerly a presidency; boundaries readjusted on a linguistic basis 1956. 50,216 sq. mi. (130,058 sq. km). Chennai.

Tamil Nadu British

/ ˈtæmɪl nɑːˈduː /

noun

Former name (until 1968): Madras. a state of SE India, on the Coromandel Coast: reorganized in 1956 and 1960 and made smaller; consists of a coastal plain backed by hills, including the Nilgiri Hills in the west Capital: Chennai (formerly called Madras). Pop: 62 110 839 (2001). Area: 130 058 sq km (50 216 sq miles)

"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.

See Examples For:

Tamil Nadu

Prominent Tamil Nadu environmental activist Piyush Manush said the fight to save the community's soul is not just about the city itself.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

"Who else will give you 250 rupees an hour just for doing housework?" said Sriramyachandra from her kitchen in Chennai in southern India's Tamil Nadu state.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

The DMK - long seen as the architect of India's most durable welfare-transfer model - has lost power in Tamil Nadu.

From BBC ● May 11, 2026

It won only one out of 234 seats in Tamil Nadu and three out of 140 in next-door Kerala, both of which have significant numbers of Christians and Muslims.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026

The plains of Tamil Nadu were beastly hot.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

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