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.
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.
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
See race 2.
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
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.
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"Now, the United States is the hottest Nation anywhere in the world, and hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before!"
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
Afrika Bambaataa, the influential rapper and DJ who helped shape the culture of hip-hop with his legendary Zulu Nation block parties in the South Bronx, has died.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
“This decision should close the chapter on the suggestion of an independence referendum,” said Allan Adam, the Chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, one of the main plaintiffs.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
While the by-election result will not affect the Labor government's massive majority, it could see the first One Nation MP elected to Australia's national parliament.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
Nation and I began working after school as well as weekends in order to help feed our family.
From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda
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.
