the States

plural noun

informal
: the United States of America
My cousin from England is coming to visit me in the States.

Examples of the States in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Everybody, including the great legal scholars, love the idea of Roe v. Wade terminated so it can be brought back to the states. Nbc Universal, NBC News, 17 Sep. 2023 The administrative and bureaucratic hurdles can be a barrier to enrollees, not to mention an unnecessary cost to the states. Annalisa Merelli, Quartz, 31 Mar. 2023 Such calls have been opposed or ignored by the states producing and using the ammunition, which include China, France, Pakistan, Russia, the U.S., and the U.K. Russia itself abstained from a U.N. vote seeking to ban their use in 2007. Popular Mechanics, 29 Mar. 2023

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

Dictionary Entries Near the States

Cite this Entry

“The States.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20States. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!