Manifest Destiny

[ man-uh-fest des-tuh-nee ]

noun

1. the belief or doctrine, held chiefly in the middle and latter part of the 19th century, that it was the destiny of the U.S. to expand its territory over the whole of North America and to extend and enhance its political, social, and economic influences.

Manifest Destiny

noun

1. (esp in the 19th-century US) the belief that the US was a chosen land that had been allotted the entire North American continent by God

manifest destiny

1. A popular slogan of the 1840s. It was used by people who believed that the United States was destined — by God, some said — to expand across North America to the Pacific Ocean . The idea of manifest destiny was used to justify the acquisition of Oregon and large parts of the Southwest, including California . ( See Mexican War .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of Manifest Destiny¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

For others, Zionism is a form of modern-day colonialism or racist manifest destiny — the attempt to justify the seizure of contested land in the name of God.

From Los Angeles Times

It was a new form of manifest destiny, 100% California and oblivious to its potential wreckage.

From Los Angeles Times

Broadly speaking, the center-left was convinced that this political manifest destiny would push right-wing mythologies to the fringes or extinguish them completely.

From Salon

It always struck me that Deion Sanders chose Colorado for the next phase of his manifest destiny.

From Los Angeles Times

It looked like Russia’s nadir, until Putin launched the war on Ukraine, citing amorphous threats from the West, contending the Jewish president was a Nazi and proclaiming manifest destiny.

From Seattle Times