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• Thirteen Colonies
  Thirteen Colonies

  plural noun

  the thirteen British colonies in North America that joined together and became the United States of America after adopting the Declaration of Independence in 1776: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
• thirteen colonies
  thirteen colonies

  The colonies that composed the original United States in 1776: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia.

Thirteen Colonies

American  

plural noun

1. the thirteen British colonies in North America that joined together and became the United States of America after adopting the Declaration of Independence in 1776: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

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thirteen colonies Cultural  

1. The colonies that composed the original United States in 1776: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Thirteen Colonies thirteen colonies

"Together, these records offer a more complex and enlightening account of the Revolution, showing how its consequences were felt far beyond the Thirteen Colonies," Cunningham added.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

Users have pointed out that the American flag decal on the phone’s case does not display the flag properly, showing 11 stripes instead of 13 to represent the Thirteen Colonies.

From Salon ● May 21, 2026

It was later captured by HMS Maidstone in 1778 while supporting the Thirteen Colonies in the American War of Independence.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2021

The works of Shakespeare have been an integral part of the American dream since the first settlement of the Thirteen Colonies, in part through the accident of timing.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 9, 2016

There was indeed in particular a striking likeness between Cuba and the Thirteen Colonies in North America just before the Revolution in that country.

From The History of Cuba, vol. 3 by Willis Fletcher Johnson

Following the war’s conclusion, the first written constitution, known as the Articles of Confederation, was drafted in 1776–1777 and ratified by the thirteen colonies in 1781.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

By 1776, they had been living under the rule of the British government for more than a century, and England had long treated the thirteen colonies with a degree of benign neglect.

From Textbooks ● Jul. 28, 2021

Under his left hand lay thirteen rods, bound like the thirteen colonies themselves.

From Salon ● Jan. 18, 2015

The African-born whites, like the first-generation Americans in the U.S.'s thirteen colonies, resent rule from the mother country.

From Time Magazine Archive

This meeting had been called to discuss united action by the thirteen colonies against the king and Parliament.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis