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

To investigate, Stallard and colleagues from institutions across the United Kingdom and United States turned to the James Webb Space Telescope.

From Science Daily • May 29, 2026

To say that things have dramatically changed in the United States since I was a child in the 1960s is an understatement.

From Salon • May 29, 2026

I’m not blind to the faults of the United States.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

That's the question the government-funded Smithsonian Institution posed itself as the United States gears up for the anniversary of the nation's July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence.

From Barron's • May 29, 2026

The USS Indianapolis was a highly decorated United States warship that as, the U.S.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler