UNESCO

American  

[yoo-nes-koh] / yuˈnɛs koʊ /

noun

1. an agency of the United Nations charged with instituting and administering programs for cooperative, coordinated action by member states in education, science, and the arts.

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UNESCO British  

/ juːˈnɛskəʊ /

acronym

1. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization: an agency of the United Nations that sponsors programmes to promote education, communication, the arts, etc

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Etymology

Origin of UNESCO

U(nited) N(ations) E(ducational) , S(cientific, and) C(ultural) O(rganization)

Example Sentences

An organisation linked to UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural heritage agency, launched the signs initiative near the site, part of a push that covers more than 30 locations across the country.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

UNESCO, which participated at senior level in the May 2025 Washington D.C. meeting, is expected to host a follow-up session in Paris on March 3rd, 2026, at Assistant Director-General level.

From Science Daily • Feb. 14, 2026

He writes a scathing review in the mid-’50s of a book by Ashley Montague, an anthropologist working for UNESCO, criticizing biological racism.

From Salon • Apr. 20, 2024

Embassy’s storied Hotel de Talleyrand in Paris, as part of an initiative by the United States to reengage with the Paris-based U.N. cultural agency, UNESCO, which it rejoined last year after a years-long hiatus.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 23, 2024

Tensions that cause wars: common statement and individual papers by a group of social scientists brought together by UNESCO.

From U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1977 July - December by Library of Congress. Copyright Office