Tennessee

American  

[ten-uh-see] / ˌtɛn əˈsi /

noun

1. a state in the southeastern United States. 42,246 sq. mi. (109,415 sq. km). Nashville. TN (for use with zip code), Tenn.

2. a river flowing from eastern Tennessee through northern Alabama, western Tennessee, and southwestern Kentucky into the Ohio near Paducah. 652 miles (1,050 km) long.

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Tennessee British  

/ ˌtɛnɪˈsiː /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Tenn.   TN.  a state of the E central US: consists of a plain in the west, rising to the Appalachians and the Cumberland Plateau in the east. Capital: Nashville. Pop: 5 841 748 (2003 est). Area: 109 412 sq km (42 244 sq miles)

2. a river in the E central US, flowing southwest from E Tennessee into N Alabama, then west and north to the Ohio River at Paducah: the longest tributary of the Ohio; includes a series of dams and reservoirs under the Tennessee Valley Authority. Length: 1049 km (652 miles)

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Tennessee Cultural  

1. State in the south-central United States bordered by Kentucky and Virginia to the north; North Carolina to the east; Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south; and Arkansas and Missouri to the west. Its capital is Nashville, and its largest city is Memphis.

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Discover More

One of the Confederate states during the Civil War.

Example Sentences

Yet research from the Beacon Center of Tennessee shows that private education providers still face a maze of agencies and classifications, each with varying compliance requirements.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Savannah and Cole have not revealed whether the property is now completed, and their most recent social media content suggests that they are still residing in their Tennessee home.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026

Yet the next two picks were both offensive players, with the Arizona Cardinals selecting running back Jeremiyah Love before the Tennessee Titans sprang a surprise by taking wide receiver Carnell Tate.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

Kansas City Chiefs: Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee — Chiefs need a corner, and if Jermod McCoy is gone, Hood would be a good alternative.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

At the lake’s western end, where the Little Tennessee River flows into it, stands a big hydroelectric dam, 480 feet high, built by the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930s.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson