United States
[ yoo-nahy-tid steyts ]
/ yuˈnaɪ tɪd ˈsteɪts /
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noun (used with a singular verb)
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) Capital: Washington, D.C. Abbreviations: U.S., US
VIDEO FOR UNITED STATES
Have You Been Pronouncing These US Places Correctly?
This woman took a road trip across the US and found out she was pronouncing a lot of state and city names ... wrong. Have you been pronouncing them incorrectly too?
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Also called America .
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
OTHER WORDS FROM United States
anti–U·nit·ed States, adjectivepro–U·nit·ed States, adjectiveWords nearby United States
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023