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• Star-Spangled Banner, The
  Star-Spangled Banner, The

  noun

  Stars and Stripes.
• “The Star-Spangled Banner”
  “The Star-Spangled Banner”

  The National Anthem of the United States. Francis Scott Key wrote the words during the War of 1812, when he saw the flag of the United States still flying over Fort McHenry, Maryland, after a night of attack by British troops. The tune is from a British popular song of the day. The first stanza is:

  Oh, say, can you see by the dawn's early light,

  What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

  Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,

  O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

  And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

  Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.

  Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

  O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Star-Spangled Banner, The

American  

noun

1. Stars and Stripes.

2. (italics) the national anthem of the United States of America, based on a poem written by Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, and set by him to the melody of the English song To Anacreon in Heaven: officially adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1931.

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“The Star-Spangled Banner” Cultural  

1. The National Anthem of the United States. Francis Scott Key wrote the words during the War of 1812, when he saw the flag of the United States still flying over Fort McHenry, Maryland, after a night of attack by British troops. The tune is from a British popular song of the day. The first stanza is:

   Oh, say, can you see by the dawn's early light,

   What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

   Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,

   O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

   And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

   Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.

   Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

   O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

“The Star-Spangled Banner”

Strong left his office and joined the jubilant throng outside where attorneys, brokers, bankers and clerks joined in singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” over and over again.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

Although “The Star-Spangled Banner” had already been translated to various languages by the time that President Roosevelt entered office, including two Spanish versions, no versions of the anthem were considered singable.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2025

And Patel is also a producer for the song “And Justice for All,” in which Jan. 6 defendants were recorded singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” from prison.

From Slate ● Dec. 5, 2024

At the ceremony, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was sung by a leading American soprano, Lisette Oropesa.

From New York Times ● Jan. 20, 2024

Already at the tables, a group that had arrived still earlier was singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in order that they might use the salt and pepper and ketchup there.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller