United Nations
Americannoun
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(used with a singular verb,) the United Nations an international organization, with headquarters in New York City, formed to promote international peace, security, and cooperation under the terms of the charter signed by 51 founding countries in San Francisco in 1945, and since then by many more countries. UN, U.N.
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(used with a plural verb) the nations that signed the joint declaration in Washington, D.C., January 2, 1942, pledging to employ full resources against the Axis powers, not to make a separate peace, etc.
noun
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UN. an international organization of independent states, with its headquarters in New York City, that was formed in 1945 to promote peace and international cooperation and security
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(in World War II) a coalition of 26 nations that signed a joint declaration in Jan 1942, pledging their full resources to defeating the Axis powers
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The Korean War was officially fought by the United Nations against North Korea.
The United Nations was formed after World War II as a successor to the League of Nations and has served as a forum for many international disputes, notably the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Cuban missile crisis. It also engages in peacekeeping operations by sending lightly armed detachments of soldiers from neutral nations to supervise cease-fires between combatants. Through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), it provides aid for those uprooted by war or famine.
The headquarters of the U.N. are in Manhattan. Some of its affiliates, however, are centered elsewhere. The International Court of Justice sits in The Hague. UNHCR is headquartered in Geneva, and UNESCO in Paris.
A twenty-eight nation coalition of United Nations member states opposed Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. (See Persian Gulf War.)
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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.
But he noted that "the United States and Israel have acted without engaging the United Nations or consulting with allies, including Canada".
From Barron's
Officials in Madrid said they would bar the US from using military bases in southern Spain as part of the operation, arguing that doing so would violate the United Nations charter.
From BBC
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares earlier said that his government would only allow the use of the Naval Base Rota and Moron Air Base for activities consistent with the United Nations Charter.
From Barron's
Bush got United Nations authorization for use of force to oust Iraq from Kuwait, and there was a broad coalition of countries that sent troops, including the U.K.,
The European Commission said Monday it was "enhancing preparedness through closer monitoring" of the situation and reinforcing cooperation with relevant United Nations agencies and partner countries.
From Barron's
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.