United Nations

American  

[yoo-nahy-tid ney-shuhnz] / juˈnaɪ tɪd ˈneɪ ʃənz /

noun

1. (used with a singular verb,) the United Nations an international organization, with headquarters in New York City, formed to promote international peace, security, and cooperation under the terms of the charter signed by 51 founding countries in San Francisco in 1945, and since then by many more countries. UN, U.N.

2. (used with a plural verb) the nations that signed the joint declaration in Washington, D.C., January 2, 1942, pledging to employ full resources against the Axis powers, not to make a separate peace, etc.

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United Nations British  

noun

1.  UN.  an international organization of independent states, with its headquarters in New York City, that was formed in 1945 to promote peace and international cooperation and security

2. (in World War II) a coalition of 26 nations that signed a joint declaration in Jan 1942, pledging their full resources to defeating the Axis powers

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United Nations Cultural  

1. An organization that includes virtually all countries in the world, with nearly 190 member nations. Its General Assembly, in which each member nation has one vote, guides policies and finances generally. Another important division of the United Nations is the Security Council, in which five powerful nations have a majority; the Security Council is charged with solving crises and keeping peace. The United Nations also includes an Economic and Social Council; a Secretariat, or administrative division; and the International Court of Justice, or World Court. It also is allied with several agencies that operate independently, such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

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The Korean War was officially fought by the United Nations against North Korea.

The United Nations was formed after World War II as a successor to the League of Nations and has served as a forum for many international disputes, notably the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Cuban missile crisis. It also engages in peacekeeping operations by sending lightly armed detachments of soldiers from neutral nations to supervise cease-fires between combatants. Through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), it provides aid for those uprooted by war or famine.

The headquarters of the U.N. are in Manhattan. Some of its affiliates, however, are centered elsewhere. The International Court of Justice sits in The Hague. UNHCR is headquartered in Geneva, and UNESCO in Paris.

A twenty-eight nation coalition of United Nations member states opposed Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. (See Persian Gulf War.)

Compare meaning

How does united-nations compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• League of Nations vs. United Nations

Example Sentences

The United Nations put the population at 46 million, with the country covering an area of 2.8 million sq km.

From BBC • Jul. 3, 2026

The United Nations estimates that the number could be as high as 50,000 but Venezuela's government has avoided putting a number on how many people are still unaccounted for.

From Barron's • Jun. 30, 2026

Transport infrastructure across Europe, North America and central Asia must adapt to more adverse climate conditions, the United Nations said on Tuesday, warning that inaction could prove more costly than upgrades.

From Barron's • Jun. 30, 2026

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is slated to be the Secretary-General of the United Nations by July 1.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026

I keep thinking Mom will realize that we’re at war and act like the United Nations as she’s done in the past, but she doesn’t.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson