Department of State

noun phrase

: the part of the U.S. government that is responsible for how the U.S. deals with other countries

Examples of Department of State in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And the Texas Department of State Health Services reports that between 2013 and 2016, 91 cases of Chagas disease were reported. —Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Sep. 2025

Abbott’s executive order directs the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) to ban the sale of THC products to minors. —A.j. Herrington, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025

Statements from the Department of State and Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in April indicated that the two countries had reached an agreement to address the shortfalls. —Joe Edwards john Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025

One person from the Texas Department of State Health Services said to me that this is a vast underestimate for what’s really happening. —Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2025

Rhymes for Department of State

• borosilicate
• decontaminate
• deoxycholate
• deteriorate
• differentiate
• diisocyanate
• dinoflagellate
• excommunicate
• incapacitate
• insubordinate
• intercorporate
• interpenetrate

Legal Definition

Department of State

Agency

federal executive division responsible for carrying out U.S. foreign policy. It is the president's principal means of conducting treaty negotiations and effecting agreements with foreign nations. Under its control are the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, seven bureaus of political affairs, the U.S. Foreign Service (including 270 embassies, consulates, and diplomatic missions, and numerous subagencies), and various offices of diplomatic security, foreign intelligence, policy analysis, international narcotics control, protocol, and passport and medical services. The department's legal adviser advises the secretary of state on all matters of international law arising in the conduct of foreign relations.