West Virginia

American  

noun

1. a state in the eastern United States. 24,181 sq. mi. (62,629 sq. km). Charleston. WV (for use with zip code), W.Va.

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West Virginia British  

noun

1. Abbreviation: W Va.   W. Va..   WV.  a state of the eastern US: part of Virginia until the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861); consists chiefly of the Allegheny Plateau; bounded on the west by the Ohio River; coal-mining. Capital: Charleston. Pop: 1 810 354 (2003 est). Area: 62 341 sq km (24 070 sq miles)

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West Virginia Cultural  

1. State in the southeastern United States bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland to the north, Virginia to the east and south, and Kentucky and Ohio to the west. Its capital and largest city is Charleston.

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Ranks first in bituminous coal production, with about twenty percent of the nation's total.

Separated from Virginia after Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861; it was granted statehood in 1863, during the Civil War.

Other Word Forms

• West Virginian adjective

Example Sentences

A spokeswoman for another West Virginia school district that stopped using Star Academy after its pilot expired said the program’s model didn’t align with state policy on “student learning and educational achievement.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

“In West Virginia, you are your people, your homeplace,” she writes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

A research team from West Virginia University has been investigating whether such unconventional sources could help meet growing lithium demand.

From Science Daily • Apr. 16, 2026

The rural community of the book is a West Virginia mining hamlet.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

There it was, the West Virginia thing—the almighty job.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam