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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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The U.S. numbers wouldn’t have made much of a difference—fewer than 100,000 children, mostly girls, are estimated to have been brought here, out of a nation of well over a billion people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
The Balkan nation has even pinned part of its bid to join the European Union on reviving the site -- with environmental benchmarks required for membership closely tied to the salina's health.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
In Africa, Egypt is the only nation with DST.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
As part of the extension, USC’s new Bloom Football Performance Center will become the first facility in the nation fully outfitted with Nike strength equipment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
A foreign diplomat told a reporter, “You can’t believe it’s possible that human beings can be so regimented or that, in such a short time, an entire nation could have become so war-minded.”
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Chief Troy Knowlton of Piikani First Nation put it more bluntly, telling the BBC he would rather be "dealing with the devil that we know today".
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
For the entirety of “Avatar,” Aang’s loved ones and allies try to persuade him that the only way to stop the Fire Nation is to kill its despotic ruler, Lord Ozai.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
Live Nation unveiled Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire’s joint tour in January, revealing a 26-city lineup with concerts in Chicago, Orlando, Fla., San Francisco and Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
As children, cattle and lambs happily commune with bears, lions and wolves in the foreground, the background depicts William Penn making a treaty with Tamanend, chief of the Lenape Nation, and founding Pennsylvania.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
Late in August of 1796, at the same time he was making final revisions on his Farewell Address, Washington wrote his Address to the Cherokee Nation.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Electricity, biofuels and other sources of energy have been taking market share as developed nations, including the U.S., become less dependent on oil.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
In total, the two nations have shared a pitch 14 times, but nine of those were exhibitions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Most existing research on dementia prevention has come from high income countries, including the United States and nations in Western Europe.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
And then there are EU nations such as Estonia that oppose a ban.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
It wasn’t so popular with the rest of the world, and European nations in particular watched uneasily as Germany suddenly got a lot bigger.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
