United States

American  

[yoo-nahy-tid steyts] / yuˈnaɪ tɪd ˈsteɪts /

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

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Other Word Forms

• anti–United States adjective
• pro–United States adjective

Etymology

Origin of United States

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 United States Oil ETF beat oil stock funds by betting on the commodity directly, leaping 82.9% in the quarter.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Land once planted with crops now holds buildings such as the United Nations headquarters and the embassy of the United States.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

It’s Jobs Day, which means another round of befuddlement over the state of the United States economy.

From Slate • Apr. 3, 2026

Newspapers across the new United States printed it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

We’d saved the Academy, and in doing so we’d done what we’d been trained to do—we’d protected the future of the United States.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin