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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

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

We are more than just a footnote in the nation’s rich and complex history, with immigrants as early as, say, the Thirteen Colonies, or as recent as the state-sanctioned guest-worker programs of the West.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 20, 2015

When Canada was formally ceded to Great Britain the Thirteen Colonies were relieved from the menace of the presence of France in the valleys of the St. Lawrence, the Ohio, and the Mississippi.

From Canada under British Rule 1760-1900 by Bourinot, John George, Sir