Britain

American  

[brit-n] / ˈbrɪt n /

noun

1. Great Britain.

2. Britannia.

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Britain British  

/ ˈbrɪtən /

noun

1. another name for Great Britain United Kingdom

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Britain Cultural  

1. Officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, located on the British Isles off the western coast of the mainland (continent) of Europe. It comprises England, Wales, and Scotland on the island of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland on the island of Ireland. Its capital and largest city is London.

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It is one of the world's leading industrialized nations.

Most of the settlers of the American colonies were British. The colonies remained under the British crown until the American Revolutionary War.

Britain declared war on Germany in 1939. Allied with the United States and the Soviet Union, the British, under the leadership of Winston Churchill, played an important role in defeating Germany.

At the height of its imperial power in the late nineteenth century, Britain boasted colonies and possessions around the globe. (See British Empire.)

A constitutional monarchy, Britain's government calls for the hereditary king or queen to perform mostly ceremonial functions. Parliament governs the country.

Compare meaning

How does britain compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Britain vs. Great Britain
• Britain vs. England

Example Sentences

In Britain, such divisiveness has come to feel normal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026

Bishop’s mother was Irish American and his father had been a model and actor in Britain before becoming a family man, moving to Queens and settling into a steady job.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2026

"Meltdown" is splashed across the Daily Mirror's front page as it reports on "baking Britain".

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026

Researchers from Newcastle University's Human Nutrition and Exercise Research Centre analyzed vitamin D levels in nearly 300 people living across northern Britain.

From Science Daily • Jun. 24, 2026

In Ulster, they created a Protestant presence within a predominantly Catholic nation and gave Britain a foothold for its efforts to expand its empire.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz