statehood

noun

state·​hood ˈstāt-ˌhu̇d How to pronounce statehood (audio)
: the condition of being a state
especially : the status of being one of the states of the U.S.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web The best example was Tom Carper, one of Biden’s home state senators, long a supporter of D.C. statehood, who quickly had to back Biden’s position of dictating to D.C. James Pindell, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Mar. 2023 Still, even though congressional Democrats have broadly supported the federal George Floyd Justice in Policing Act — and D.C. statehood — Mendelson said the city can’t just assume Democrats will support D.C. home rule based on what happened with the crime bill. Ellie Silverman, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2023 Benton County was named for Sen. Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, who worked to achieve statehood for Arkansas, according to the city website. Mike Jones, Arkansas Online, 4 Feb. 2023 The law, which predated Arizona's statehood and had been barred from being enforced for years, was blocked on the grounds that subsequent Arizona laws do allow for the procedure. Jeva Lange, The Week, 31 Dec. 2022 The coalition was made up of nationalists who oppose Palestinian statehood, dovish parties that seek a peace agreement and — for the first time in the country's history — a small Arab Islamist party. Josef Federman, USA TODAY, 2 Nov. 2022 Endowment land is land Idaho received at statehood and that the Land Board manages to produce the maximum return over the long term for beneficiaries, mainly public education. Keith Ridler, ajc, 20 Sep. 2022 Of 120 executive orders proposed since statehood, only seven have been disapproved, according to a 2021 Legal Services memo. James Brooks, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Mar. 2022 And then Likud, under his leadership, became a party that has committed itself to undermining anything such as compromising on a partition of the land, or Palestinian statehood. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'statehood.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1805, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of statehood was in 1805

Dictionary Entries Near statehood

Cite this Entry

“Statehood.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/statehood. Accessed 3 Jun. 2023.

Kids Definition

statehood

noun
state·​hood ˈstāt-ˌhu̇d How to pronounce statehood (audio)
: the condition of being a state
especially : the condition or status of one of the states of the U.S.

More from Merriam-Webster on statehood

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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