1
a(1)
: nationality sense 5a
three Slav peoples … forged into a Yugoslavia without really fusing into a Yugoslav nation—
Hans Kohn
Hans Kohn
(2)
: a politically organized nationality
(3)
in the Bible
: a non-Jewish nationality
why do the nations conspire—Psalms 2:1 (Revised Standard Version)
Psalms 2:1 (Revised Standard Version)
b
: a community of people composed of one or more nationalities and possessing a more or less defined territory and government
Canada is a nation with a written constitution—B. K. Sandwell
B. K. Sandwell
c
: a territorial division containing a body of people of one or more nationalities and usually characterized by relatively large size and independent status
a nation of vast size with a small population—Mary K. Hammond
Mary K. Hammond2
archaic
: group, aggregation
3
: a tribe or federation of tribes (as of American Indians)
the Seminole Nation in Oklahoma
Examples of nation in a Sentence
It's one of the richest nations in the world.
the largest state in the nation
The President will speak to the nation tonight.
The entire nation is celebrating the victory.
Recent Examples on the Web
The film contends there has been an 80-year cover-up of the existence of non-human intelligent life and a secret war among major nations to reverse engineer UFO technology.
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2025
That introduced me to works like Hiroshima, Mon Amour, The Battle of Algiers, and Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah, which really show how cinema can radically change how an entire nation sees itself.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2025
So roughly $300 billion – a 7% gap – separates these three nations and California on this vanity scorecard.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 16 Oct. 2025
This money is largely coming from Gulf nations, which have invested $59 billion in Egypt Since 2021, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
—Rebecca Cairns, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nation
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James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2025
That introduced me to works like Hiroshima, Mon Amour, The Battle of Algiers, and Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah, which really show how cinema can radically change how an entire nation sees itself.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2025
So roughly $300 billion – a 7% gap – separates these three nations and California on this vanity scorecard.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 16 Oct. 2025
This money is largely coming from Gulf nations, which have invested $59 billion in Egypt Since 2021, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
—Rebecca Cairns, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nation
Cite this Entry
“Nation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nation. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
nation
noun
na·tion
ˈnā-shən 
2
: a community of people composed of one or more nationalities usually with its own territory and government
3
: the territory of a nation
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