state

American  

[steyt] / steɪt /

noun

• states
  plural

1. the condition of a person or thing, as with respect to circumstances or attributes.

   a state of health.

2. the condition of matter with respect to structure, form, constitution, phase, or the like.

   water in a gaseous state.

3. status, rank, or position in life; station.

   He dresses in a manner befitting his state.

   Synonyms:

   standing

4. the style of living befitting a person of wealth and high rank.

   to travel in state.

5. a particular condition of mind or feeling.

   to be in an excited state.

6. an abnormally tense, nervous, or perturbed condition.

   He's been in a state since hearing about his brother's death.

7. a politically unified people occupying a definite territory; nation.

8. the territory, or one of the territories, of a government.

9. Sometimes State any of the bodies politic which together make up a federal union, as in the United States of America.

10. the body politic as organized for civil rule and government (distinguished from church).

11. the operations or activities of a central civil government.

    affairs of state.

12. Also called State Department.  Informal. State. the Department of State.

13. Printing. a set of copies of an edition of a publication which differ from others of the same printing because of additions, corrections, or transpositions made during printing or at any time before publication.

14. Informal. the States, the United States (usually used outside its borders).

    After a year's study in Spain, he returned to the States.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the central civil government or authority.

2. made, maintained, or chartered by or under the authority of one of the commonwealths that make up a federal union: a state bank.

   a state highway;

   a state bank.

3. characterized by, attended with, or involving ceremony.

   a state dinner.

   Synonyms:

   dignified, imposing, ceremonial, stately

4. used on or reserved for occasions of ceremony.

verb (used with object)

• states,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stated,
  past participle,  past
• stating
  present participle

1. to declare definitely or specifically.

   She stated her position on the case.

   Synonyms:

   affirm, asseverate, assert, aver

2. to set forth formally in speech or writing.

   to state a hypothesis.

3. to set forth in proper or definite form.

   to state a problem.

4. to say.

5. to fix or settle, as by authority.

   Synonyms:

   determine

idioms

1. state of mind. see state of mind.

2. lie in state, (of a corpse) to be exhibited publicly with honors before burial.

   The president's body lay in state for two days.

state British  

/ steɪt /

noun

1. the condition of a person, thing, etc, with regard to main attributes

2. the structure, form, or constitution of something

   a solid state

3. any mode of existence

4. position in life or society; estate

5. ceremonious style, as befitting wealth or dignity

   to live in state

6. a sovereign political power or community

7. the territory occupied by such a community

8. the sphere of power in such a community

   affairs of state

9. (often capital) one of a number of areas or communities having their own governments and forming a federation under a sovereign government, as in the US

10. (often capital) the body politic of a particular sovereign power, esp as contrasted with a rival authority such as the Church

11. obsolete a class or order; estate

12. informal a nervous, upset, or excited condition (esp in the phrase in a state )

13. (of a body) to be placed on public view before burial

14. a situation; present circumstances or condition

15. the current situation

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1. controlled or financed by a state

   state university

2. of, relating to, or concerning the State

   State trial

3. involving ceremony or concerned with a ceremonious occasion

   state visit

verb

1. to articulate in words; utter

2. to declare formally or publicly

   to state one's innocence

3. to resolve

state More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing state

• in a lather (state)
• in state
• ship of state

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Synonym Usage

State, condition, situation, status are terms for existing circumstances or surroundings. State is the general word, often with no concrete implications or material relationships: the present state of affairs. Condition carries an implication of a relationship to causes and circumstances: The conditions made flying impossible. Situation suggests an arrangement of circumstances, related to one another and to the character of a person: He was master of the situation. Status carries official or legal implications; it suggests a complete picture of interrelated circumstances as having to do with rank, position, standing, a stage reached in progress, etc.: the status of negotiations. See maintain.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• statehood
  noun
• substate
  noun
• counterstate
  verb
• outstate
  verb (used with object)
• antistate
  adjective
• statable
  adjective
• stateable
  adjective
• unstatable
  adjective
• unstateable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• states
  plural

Participles

• stating
  present
• stated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• state
  simple
• states
  simple
• have stated
  perfect
• has stated
  perfect
• am stating
  progressive
• are stating
  progressive
• is stating
  progressive
• have been stating
  perfect progressive
• has been stating
  perfect progressive

Past

• stated
  simple
• had stated
  perfect
• was stating
  progressive
• were stating
  progressive
• had been stating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will state
  simple
• will have stated
  perfect
• will be stating
  progressive
• will have been stating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of state

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English noun stat(e), partly from estat estate, partly from Latin status “condition” ( see status); the meanings state in defs. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 derive from Latin status (rērum) ) “state (of things)” or status (reī pūblicae) “state (of the republic)”

Explanation

State can be a condition — like solid, liquid, or gas, or even sad or happy. It can also be a state as in Idaho or New York. To state is to say something. State comes from the Latin status, meaning "condition of a country." Interestingly, even before the Revolutionary War, Britain called the American colonies states. The “States” still refers to America, but state can refer to any country’s civil government. The idea of state as a physical or emotional condition came later. Depending on your state of mind, you can state that the state of your state is awesome. Unless it’s in a state of emergency, which is no good.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

state states stated stating

Yet the future secretary of state — and architect of the Marshall Plan — was most concerned with competence and candor leading to military effectiveness.

From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026

California—one of the few states that reimburse victims—distributed millions of replacement chip-and-tap cards last year, using $76.5 million in federal and state funds for the upgrades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

As you’d expect, his Democratic opponent, state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, was scathing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

She served in Ohio’s state legislature for nearly a decade and spent the first part of her political career working from a wheelchair after suffering a stroke in 2000.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

He jogged down to the Shop, imitating Tomás’s perpetual state of emergency, which is exactly what Chase would be in if it started to rain after he pulled everything out.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

Few states have ponied up the millions to switch to the chip electronic benefit transfer, or EBT, cards that distribute welfare funds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Earlier this week, the leaders of eight German states backed Merz and said restorting trust in the CDU lay in "listening and taking political action, not in debates over personnel".

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

"It is not active at room temperature. Rather, we show that it only produces ammonia at high temperatures. Its extreme stability allowed us to study states of the nitrogenase that are usually difficult to capture."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

As Hollywood productions continue chase tax credits to other states and countries, much of the post-production work is going with them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

There were more earthquakes here in Alaska than anywhere in the lower forty-eight states, even California.

From "I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964" by Lauren Tarshis

In the sweltering heat, fellow fish vendor Faraba Fatty stated bluntly that "without electricity, we have a very bad life".

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

The activist investor stated that Cooper Cos. requires an urgent overhaul to address chronic underperformance and poor inventory management.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

It is likely that when Meink stated that we have “on-orbit space-control weapons,” he was referring to those sorts of weapons.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

“In light of evolving societal norms, the Commissioner deems there is insufficient justification for the continued use of marital status in automobile insurance rating,” the filing stated.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

On November 9, an East German government spokesman named Gunter Schabowski gave a press conference at which he stated that travel restrictions between East and West Germany would be eased.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

The monetary authority stopped short of stating what its next move would be.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

“The irresponsible reports that have been published stating that Maria Bartiromo was fired or is no longer an employee of Fox are absolutely and unequivocally false,” Bartiromo’s lawyer said today.

From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026

Both women went through "intense" vetting and were required to read and sign declarations stating that they had no contacts who were "engaged in criminal activities", the court heard.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

MapQuest decided not to rename the lake, stating in a viral social media post that it is “aware that Lake Ontario is being correctly labeled on our map.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

There was no envy in the comment; good-natured Fanny was merely stating a fact.

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

Related Words

• affirm
• articulate
• describe
• explain
• expound
• express
• give
• present
• put
• say
• set forth
• speak
• specify
• tell
• voice