nation
1 Americannoun
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a large body of people, associated with a particular territory, that is sufficiently conscious of its unity to seek or to possess a government peculiarly its own.
The president spoke to the nation about the new tax.
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the territory or country itself.
the nations of Central America.
- Synonyms:
- realm, kingdom, commonwealth, state
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a member tribe of an American Indian confederation.
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an aggregation of persons of the same ethnic family, often speaking the same language or cognate languages.
noun
noun
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an aggregation of people or peoples of one or more cultures, races, etc, organized into a single state
the Australian nation
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a community of persons not constituting a state but bound by common descent, language, history, etc
the French-Canadian nation
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a federation of tribes, esp American Indians
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the territory occupied by such a federation
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Related Words
See race 2.
Other Word Forms
- internation adjective
- minination noun
- nationhood noun
- nationless adjective
- supernation noun
Etymology
Origin of nation
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin nātiōn- (stem of nātiō ) “birth, tribe,” equivalent to nāt(us) (past participle of nāscī “to be born”) + -iōn- -ion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The patrollers, responsible for safety on one of the nation’s steepest ski mountains, demanded more pay, arguing that Telluride’s high cost of living forced many to work multiple jobs and make long commutes.
His predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, had left the nation bankrupt and humiliated, following an eight-year war with neighboring Iraq, one of the deadliest global conflicts of the past century.
“This is the logic behind the Iranian nation.”
From Los Angeles Times
Many nations are moving to address the dangers of chatbots and image generators -- from misinformation to online abuse and copyright violations -- but few have enacted legislation.
From Barron's
No presidential order has been issued to send any ships of any description to the island nation in the North Atlantic — and even more to the point, none was needed.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
