states' rights

plural noun

: the rights and powers held by a state, province, etc., that is a member of a federal union

especially : the rights and powers not expressly identified in the U.S. Constitution as belonging to the federal government and that therefore belong to the states

Examples of states' rights in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Gilliam is not contesting states' rights to ban profane, sexualized or vulgar plates. —Angele Latham, The Tennessean, 3 Sep. 2025

Gilliam is not contesting states' rights to ban profane, sexualized or vulgar plates. —Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2025

These are the same Republicans who talk tough about states' rights but fold the moment they're asked to actually defend them—the same politicians who campaign on conservative values but lack the courage to enforce basic legislative discipline. —James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025

But during the Civil Rights Movement, presidents on some occasions used their authority to supersede states' rights to activate the National Guard. —Alana Wise, NPR, 21 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for states' rights

• acolytes
• ammonites
• amorites
• analytes
• andesites
• appetites
• argillites
• astrocytes
• belemnites
• bryophytes
• canaanites
• carmelites

Kids Definition

states' rights

plural noun

: all rights not given to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution nor forbidden by it to the separate states

Legal Definition

states' rights

noun plural

1

: rights and powers not forbidden to the states nor vested in the federal government by the U.S. Constitution

2

singular in construction : a doctrine based on states' rights that has been used to justify state resistance to federal authority in matters seen as the exclusive concern of the states and that is most often associated with the states favoring slavery and secession in the 19th century compare federalism