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

In response to questions about whether Noem had consulted the Department of State when terminating Haiti’s TPS, the agency on Wednesday sent the original press release from June 2025 announcing the termination. —Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 17 June 2026

Four other people had qualified to run for the seat as of Friday afternoon, according to the Department of State’s website. —Annie Martin, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 June 2026

If you are denied a visa, in most cases you will be notified of which section of the law applies to your denial, as outlined by the Department of State website. —Melanie Anzidei, New York Times, 11 June 2026

And while the entire country is listed under the Department of State's second-lowest Level 2 travel advisory (with several areas under higher warning levels), the embassy and consulates have a few World Cup-specific warnings from avoiding driving danger to packing carefully. —Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 5 June 2026

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.