United Nations

noun

(used with a singular verb) 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.Abbreviations: UN, U.N.: Compare General Assembly, Security Council.
(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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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use United Nations in a sentence

Nations' formal emissions-cutting pledges are collectively way too weak to put the world on track to meet the Paris climate deal's temperature-limiting target, a United Nations tally shows.
UN says Paris carbon-cutting plans fall far short | Ben Geman | February 26, 2021 | Axios
A United Nations report published six years later found that Shell had not followed its own procedures regarding the maintenance of oilfield infrastructure.
Lawyers Are Working to Put 'Ecocide' on a Par with War Crimes. Could an International Law Hold Major Polluters to Account? | Mélissa Godin | February 19, 2021 | Time
According to a United Nations report, the top 1 percent of income earners in the world account for 15 percent of emissions.
Can Billionaires Really Save Us from Climate Disaster? | Heather Hansman | February 12, 2021 | Outside Online
After learning about Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who stood up for girls’ education in Pakistan, Gorman made up her mind to participate in an annual meeting on women’s rights at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Amanda Gorman learned the power of poetry early on | Los Angeles Times | February 1, 2021 | Washington Post
A United Nations agency called the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, or CORSIA, wants airlines to stabilize CO2 emissions at 2020 levels.
United Airlines aims to suck carbon dioxide from the friendly skies | Steven Mufson | January 12, 2021 | Washington Post

The United Nations was prompted to impose a ban on selling mainframe computers or laptops to North Korea.
Inside the ‘Surprisingly Great’ North Korean Hacker Hotel | Michael Daly | December 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported that 3,419 others are known to have died at sea in 2014, so far.
Inside the Smuggling Networks Flooding Europe with Refugees | Barbie Latza Nadeau | December 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The United Nations wants us to remember human rights 365 days a year, in fact.
Remembering Iran’s Imprisoned Kurds on UN Human Rights Day | Sharif Behruz, Movements.Org | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
At a meeting Tuesday, Senior United Nations System Coordinator for Ebola David Nabarro zeroed in on this point.
Jail Threats for Sierra Leone Ebola Victims’ Families | Abby Haglage | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He wanders through the halls of the United Nations, passing out pamphlets and extolling his cause.
The Man Who Invented the Word ‘Genocide’ | Nina Strochlic | November 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
There was a crisis in the United Nations, which had been reorganized once and might need to be shuffled again.
Operation Terror | William Fitzgerald Jenkins
The United Nations, from a weak but hopeful beginning, had now stepped forth in its own right as an effective world government.
Where I Wasn't Going | Walt Richmond
Had little Alse's mother lived he would never have volunteered for this third United Nations' war duel.
Stalemate | Basil Eugene Wells
I terminated my employment with the United Nations in June 1963.
Warren Commission (5 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
But for a number of years you were an interpreter at the United Nations?
Warren Commission (5 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for United Nations

United Nations

noun(functioning as singular or plural)

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: Abbreviation: UN
(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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for United Nations

United Nations

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).

Notes for United Nations

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.

Notes for United Nations

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

Notes for United Nations

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

Notes for United Nations

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.

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