Virginia

American  

[ver-jin-yuh] / vərˈdʒɪn yə /

noun

1. a state in the eastern United States, on the Atlantic coast: part of the historical South. 40,815 square miles (105,710 square kilometers). Richmond. VA (for use with zip code), Va.

2. a town in northeastern Minnesota.

3. (italics) Merrimac.

4. a female given name: from a Roman family name.

---

Virginia ¹ British  

/ vəˈdʒɪnɪə /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Va.   VA.  a state of the eastern US, on the Atlantic: site of the first permanent English settlement in North America; consists of a low-lying deeply indented coast rising inland to the Piedmont plateau and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Capital: Richmond. Pop: 7 386 330 (2003 est). Area: 103 030 sq km (39 780 sq miles)

---

Virginia ² British  

/ vəˈdʒɪnɪə /

noun

1. (sometimes not capital) a type of flue-cured tobacco grown originally in Virginia

---

Virginia Cultural  

1. State in the eastern United States bordered by West Virginia and Maryland to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, North Carolina and Tennessee to the south, and Kentucky to the west. Its capital is Richmond, and its largest city is Virginia Beach.

---

Discover More

One of the thirteen colonies. The first permanent English settlement in North America was at Jamestown, founded in the early seventeenth century.

Named for Queen Elizabeth I, the “Virgin Queen.”

One of the Confederate states during the Civil War.

Example Sentences

The John Brown trial cannot completely resolve today’s birthright citizenship controversy—Brown was a citizen of the U.S., although not of Virginia, at a time when state citizenship was primary—but the implications are undeniable.

From Slate • Apr. 2, 2026

Key contributions came from collaborators at Janelia Research Campus in Virginia, including specialists in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and 3D super-resolution imaging.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

The Western District of Virginia U.S. attorney’s office, through a spokesperson, declined to comment on the nursing home case.

From Salon • Apr. 1, 2026

In West Virginia, a project to build a gas-fired power plant intended solely to supply a massive data center is facing opposition from many residents concerned about its health and environmental impacts.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Carnegie Elementary School in Marion, Virginia, needed a teacher who could teach both math and music.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson