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 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

“They’re doing so just in time to comply with the West Virginia law that bans those synthetic dyes statewide,” she states.

From Salon • Apr. 11, 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

West Virginia, which is expected to come in June.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

By the end of the month, half the steel industry, including almost all the mills in Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Johnstown, Pennsylvania; Wheeling, West Virginia; Lackawanna, New York; and Youngstown, Ohio, had shut down.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler