United States

American  

[yoo-nahy-tid steyts] / juˈnaɪ tɪd ˈsteɪts /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. Official Name United States of America.  a federal republic in the northern Western Hemisphere comprising 48 contiguous states, the District of Columbia, Alaska in North America, and Hawaii in the North Pacific, and in some contexts considered along with its five inhabited island territories (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, North Mariana Islands,American Samoa ). Conterminous United States, 3,119,885 square miles (8,080,465 square kilometers); with Alaska and Hawaii, 3,796,742 square miles (9,833,517 square kilometers); all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the island territories, 3,805,927 square miles (9,857,306 square kilometers) Washington, D.C. U.S., US

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Other Word Forms

• anti–United States
  adjective
• pro–United States
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of United States

First recorded in 1600–10, in reference to the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and in 1770–80 for the United States of America ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

United States

The United States Oil Fund closed at $129.31, up 7.3% on Wednesday.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

One doesn’t easily turn down a plea by the president of the United States.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Who was the first graduate of West Point to become the president of the United States?

From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026

In June, the site was added to the World Monuments Fund’s “Irreplaceable America” list of 10 endangered historic sites in the United States.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

As Congress ratified the Thirteenth Amendment forbidding slavery in the United States, sometime before the end of 1865, the Kanes cut off Maggie’s meager support altogether.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock