Colonies

/ ˈkɒlənɪz /

plural noun

1. the subject territories formerly in the British Empire
2. history the 13 states forming the original United States of America when they declared their independence (1776). These were Connecticut, North and South Carolina, Delaware, Georgia, New Hampshire, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and New Jersey

Example Sentences

Colonies consist of hundreds of individuals linked in chains that can be up to several meters long.

From Science Daily

Heavily taxed playing cards circulated in the American Colonies before the Revolutionary War.

From National Geographic

Colonies of seabirds, then, are helping keep the Arctic cooler and dampening the effects of climate change “one splat at a time.”

From Scientific American

In 1619, the first enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia, one of the newly formed 13 American Colonies.

From National Geographic Kids

Colonies of bats are living in the ceiling, and windows have been hit by stray bullets.

From Washington Times

Related Words

• outpost
• protectorate
• province
• territory