United States

American  

[yoo-nahy-tid steyts] / yuˈnaɪ 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

Faced with dwindling prospects in the United States, Sedaka began to regularly tour England and Australia in the late 1960s.

From Los Angeles Times

He has not yet officially confirmed he will participate in the tournament, taking place across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

From Barron's

By contrast, the United States and Russia, the world's two main atomic powers, have thousands of nuclear warheads each.

From Barron's

Though it lasted only 30 seconds, Martin’s Super Bowl moment was a symbolic demonstration of how far Latin music has come in the United States.

From Los Angeles Times

We all make mistakes, but few of us are chided by the president of the United States or summoned to testify before a congressional committee as a result.

From The Wall Street Journal