State of the Union address

Cultural

An annual message delivered to Congress by the president of the United States, in which he describes the condition of the country, outlines the nation's most serious problems, and proposes his annual program of legislation.

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The name of the address comes from a provision in the Constitution that the president “shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”

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 president could have used his State of the Union address last week to present his arguments, but chose not to.

From BBC

In this week’s State of the Union address, the president pointedly said: “Under this administration, we will always protect Social Security and Medicare.”

From MarketWatch

He invited the team to attend Tuesday’s State of the Union address in Washington.

From Los Angeles Times

She was invited to Tuesday night’s State of the Union address as a special guest of the president.

From Slate

Locker room footage show several male athletes laughing as the president joked that he would be "impeached" if he did not also invite the US women, who also won gold, to his State of the Union address.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023