nation
noun
a large body of people, associated with a particular territory, that is sufficiently conscious of its unity to seek or to possess a government peculiarly its own.
nation
1 American
[ney-shuhn]
/ ˈneɪ ʃən /
noun
-
nations
plural
-
a large body of people, associated with a particular territory, that is sufficiently conscious of its unity to seek or to possess a government peculiarly its own.
The president spoke to the nation about the new tax.
-
the territory or country itself.
the nations of Central America.
- Synonyms:
- realm, kingdom, commonwealth, state
-
a member tribe of an American Indian confederation.
-
an aggregation of persons of the same ethnic family, often speaking the same language or cognate languages.
Nation
2
American
[ney-shuhn]
/ ˈneɪ ʃən /
noun
nation
British
/ ˈneɪʃən /
noun
-
an aggregation of people or peoples of one or more cultures, races, etc, organized into a single state
the Australian nation
-
a community of persons not constituting a state but bound by common descent, language, history, etc
the French-Canadian nation
-
-
a federation of tribes, esp American Indians
-
the territory occupied by such a federation
-
Synonym Usage
See race 2.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of nation
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin nātiōn- (stem of nātiō ) “birth, tribe,” equivalent to nāt(us) (past participle of nāscī “to be born”) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
A nation is a country and its people. It's also the word used for the Native American tribal federations in the US — the Cherokee Nation, for instance — which have their own governments and territories. Nation comes from the Latin root nat-, which means "born" — the neonatal unit in a hospital is where the newborn babies are cared for. You can also use nation more loosely for ethnic or religious groups: you might speak of "the Jewish nation," meaning not just the country, or nation, of Israel, but Jews all over the world. The Nation of Islam is an African-American Muslim group.
Vocabulary lists containing nation
Human Geography - Middle School
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Michelle Obama's Speech at the 2016 DNC
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Human Geography - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
With a blistering attack that moved faster than any other in the nation, Golesh boosted Tennessee as offensive coordinator and turned around a disastrous South Florida program as head coach.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Since the coup, the West African nation has seen a crackdown on many civil liberties.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
More than a dozen farmworkers across the nation, along with the United Farm Workers of America and the UFW Foundation, sought to overturn the rule.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
The death of country music icon Dolly Parton, who kept her distance from the political debates gripping America, offered a rare moment of unity to a divided nation on Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Tonight, however, the Prime Minister was to address the nation at 9:30.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
In September, Conway and Grenell accompanied Live Nation executives to a meeting with Slater at the DOJ, where they outlined a settlement proposal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
They complained to the judge, and he ordered the DOJ and Live Nation to give them seats at the table.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
The Live Nation team sidelined Davis after he became a controversial figure, according to people familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Settlement talks with Live Nation moved above the heads of the trial team, as Woodward, the DOJ’s No. 3 official, took over, working with Assefi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Forty years ago—in 1967—the late poet June Jordan covered this same ground, brilliantly, in an article she wrote for the Nation entitled “On Listening: A Good Way To Hear.”
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
While Namibia is not unique in having phosphate deposits, other nations have decided against ocean mining, she said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
The US will has a way to go before it convinces economists, investors, and the nations trading with Iran that its sanctions threat is to be taken seriously.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
The acrimony follows the collapse of trade talks between the two nations, which have a nearly $900 billion-a-year trading relationship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
The Kremlin is yet to put forward a replacement but Russia's embassy to the UK told the BBC it did not reflect an intention to downgrade diplomatic relations between the two nations.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
In the late fifteenth century, as European explorers sailed to unfamiliar places, their actions and beliefs were guided by the Doctrine of Discovery—the idea that European nations could claim the foreign lands they “discovered.”
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
