United States

[ yoo-nahy-tid steyts ]

noun

, (used with a singular verb)

1. Official_name United States of America. a federal republic in the northern Western Hemisphere comprising 48 contiguous states, the District of Columbia, Alaska in North America, and Hawaii in the North Pacific, and in some contexts considered along with its five inhabited island territories ( Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, North Mariana Islands, American Samoa ). Conterminous United States, 3,119,885 square miles (8,080,465 square kilometers); with Alaska and Hawaii, 3,796,742 square miles (9,833,517 square kilometers); all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the island territories, 3,805,927 square miles (9,857,306 square kilometers) : Washington, D.C. : U.S., US

Other Words From

• anti–U·nit·ed States adjective
• pro–U·nit·ed States adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of United States¹

First recorded in 1600–10, in reference to the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and in 1770–80 for the United States of America ( def )

Example Sentences

The recalled products are distributed by Yu Shang Food Inc. of Spartanburg, S.C., and labeled as being produced in the United States and needing refrigeration.

From Los Angeles Times

In pursuit of clean energy goals and to reduce atmospheric carbon emissions, developers are increasingly exploring building wind turbines in the waters off the East Coast of the United States.

From Science Daily

The school has about 100 newcomers to the United States.

From Los Angeles Times

After completing upgrades and turning on its beamlines in June, APS became the first fourth-generation light source in the United States.

From Science Magazine

In the United States, where the company is currently seeing faster growth than the UK, sales so far this year are over £1.5m, said co-founder Sophie Pycroft, from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan.

From BBC