nation

¹

[ney-shuhn]

noun

1. 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.

2. the territory or country itself.

   the nations of Central America.

   Synonyms: realm, kingdom, commonwealth, state

3. a member tribe of an American Indian confederation.

4. an aggregation of persons of the same ethnic family, often speaking the same language or cognate languages.

Nation

²

[ney-shuhn]

noun

1. Carry or Carrie (Amelia Moore), 1846–1911, U.S. temperance leader.

nation

/ ˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. an aggregation of people or peoples of one or more cultures, races, etc, organized into a single state

   the Australian nation

2. a community of persons not constituting a state but bound by common descent, language, history, etc

   the French-Canadian nation

3. 1. a federation of tribes, esp American Indians

   2. the territory occupied by such a federation

Other Word Forms

• nationless adjective
• nationhood noun
• internation adjective
• minination noun
• supernation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of nation¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of nation¹

C13: via Old French from Latin nātiō birth, tribe, from nascī to be born

Synonym Study

See race ².

Example Sentences

There are fewer giant election billboards on the nation's main roads.

From BBC

The nation - including the current occupants of the White House in Washington, DC - will be watching.

From BBC

“My husband laid down his life for me, for our nation, for our children.”

From Salon

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said he was "ready to do major sanctions on Russia" once Nato nations had "agreed, and started, to do the same thing".

From BBC

Team GB made the podium in every relay event at the Paris 2024 Olympics, supplying five of the nation's 10 athletics medals at last summer's Games.

From BBC

Related Words

• community 
• democracy 
• people 
• population 
• public 
• society 
• state 
• tribe 
• union