United States of America


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United States of America

United States

or United States of America Abbr. US or U.S. or USA or U.S.A.
A country of central and northwest North America with coastlines on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It includes the noncontiguous states of Alaska and Hawaii and various island territories in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. The area now occupied by the contiguous 48 states was originally inhabited by numerous Native American peoples and was colonized beginning in the 1500s by Spain, France, the Netherlands, and England. Great Britain eventually controlled most of the Atlantic coast and, after the French and Indian Wars (1754-1763), the Northwest Territory and Canada. The original Thirteen Colonies declared their independence from Great Britain in 1776 and formed a government under the Articles of Confederation in 1781, adopting (1787) a new constitution that went into effect after 1789. The nation soon began to expand westward. Growing tensions over the issue of black slavery divided the country along geographic lines, sparking the secession of the South and the Civil War (1861-1865). The remainder of the 1800s was marked by increased westward expansion, industrialization, and the influx of millions of immigrants. The United States entered World War II after the Japanese attack (1941) on Pearl Harbor and emerged after the war as a world power. Washington, DC, is the capital and New York the largest city.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

United States of America

n
(Placename) (functioning as singular or plural) a federal republic mainly in North America consisting of 50 states and the District of Columbia: colonized principally by the English and French in the 17th century, the native Indians being gradually defeated and displaced; 13 colonies under British rule made the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and became the United States after the War of American Independence. The northern states defeated the South in the Civil War (1861–65). It is the world's most productive industrial nation and also exports agricultural products. It consists generally of the Rocky Mountains in the west, the Great Plains in the centre, the Appalachians in the east, deserts in the southwest, and coastal lowlands and swamps in the southeast. Language: predominantly English; Spanish is also widely spoken. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: dollar. Capital: Washington, DC. Pop: 316 668 567 (2013 est). Area: 9 518 323 sq km (3 675 031 sq miles). Often shortened to: United States Abbreviation: US or USA
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Unit′ed States′


n.
a republic in the N Western Hemisphere comprising 48 conterminous states, the District of Columbia, and Alaska in North America, and Hawaii in the N Pacific. 281,421,906; conterminous United States, 3,022,387 sq. mi. (7,827,982 sq. km); with Alaska and Hawaii, 3,615,122 sq. mi. (9,363,165 sq. km). Cap.: Washington, D.C. Abbr.: U.S., US Also called United States of America.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.United States of America - North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific OceanUnited States of America - North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776
multiple voting - the act of voting in more than one place by the same person at the same election (illegal in U.S.)
snake dance - a ceremonial dance (as by the Hopi) in which snakes are handled or invoked
reallotment, reapportionment, reallocation - a new apportionment (especially a new apportionment of congressional seats in the United States on the basis of census results)
trust busting - (law) government activities seeking to dissolve corporate trusts and monopolies (especially under the United States antitrust laws)
Boston Tea Party - demonstration (1773) by citizens of Boston who (disguised as Indians) raided three British ships in Boston harbor and dumped hundreds of chests of tea into the harbor; organized as a protest against taxes on tea
recall - the act of removing an official by petition
American Civil War, United States Civil War, War between the States - civil war in the United States between the North and the South; 1861-1865
water spaniel - any dog of two large curly-coated breeds used for hunting waterfowl
maquiladora - an assembly plant in Mexico (near the United States border); parts are shipped into Mexico and the finished product is shipped back across the border
slave market - a marketplace where slaves were auctioned off (especially in the southern United States before the American Civil War)
totem - emblem consisting of an object such as an animal or plant; serves as the symbol of a family or clan (especially among American Indians)
hooter, schnoz, schnozzle, snoot, snout, nozzle, honker, beak - informal terms for the nose
southernism - an attitude characteristic of Southerners (especially in the US)
shamanism - any animistic religion similar to Asian shamanism (especially as practiced by certain Native American tribes)
Social Security number - the number of a particular individual's Social Security account
joint resolution - a resolution passed by both houses of Congress which becomes legally binding when signed by the Chief Executive (or passed over the Chief Executive's veto)
Bill of Rights - a statement of fundamental rights and privileges (especially the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution)
Athabascan, Athapaskan language, Athabaskan, Athapascan, Athapaskan - a group of Amerindian languages (the name coined by an American anthropologist, Edward Sapir)
inaugural, inaugural address - an address delivered at an inaugural ceremony (especially by a United States president)
tart - a small open pie with a fruit filling
teacake - any of various small cakes or cookies often served with tea
partridge - flesh of either quail or grouse
cola, dope - carbonated drink flavored with extract from kola nuts (`dope' is a southernism in the United States)
combination in restraint of trade - (law) any monopoly or contract or combination or conspiracy intended to restrain commerce (which are illegal according to antitrust laws of the United States)
State Department - a department of government in one of the 50 states
department of the federal government, federal department, federal office - a department of the federal government of the United States
federation of tribes, tribe - a federation (as of American Indians)
NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization - an international organization created in 1949 by the North Atlantic Treaty for purposes of collective security
OAS, Organization of American States - an association including most countries in the western hemisphere; created in 1948 to promote military and economic and social and cultural cooperation
nation - a federation of tribes (especially Native American tribes); "the Shawnee nation"
independent agency - an agency of the United States government that is created by an act of Congress and is independent of the executive departments
IC, Intelligence Community, National Intelligence Community, United States Intelligence Community - a group of government agencies and organizations that carry out intelligence activities for the United States government; headed by the Director of Central Intelligence
county - (United States) the largest administrative district within a state; "the county plans to build a new road"
eastern United States, East - the region of the United States lying to the north of the Ohio River and to the east of the Mississippi River
middle west, Midwest, midwestern United States - the north central region of the United States (sometimes called the heartland or the breadbasket of America)
Pacific Northwest - a region of the northwestern United States usually including Washington and Oregon and sometimes southwestern British Columbia
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
Verenigde State van Amerika
Spojené státy americkéSpojené státy
de Forenede Stater
Vereinigte StaatenVereinigte Staaten von Amerika
Unuiĝintaj Ŝtatoj de AmerikoUsono
Ameerika Ühendriigid
Yhdysvallat
États-UnisÉtats-Unis d’Amérique
Sjedinjene Američke Države
Amerikai Egyesült Államok
Amerika Serikat
米国アメリカ合衆国
미국
JAVJungtinės Amerikos Valstijos
Statele Unite ale Americii
Förenta staterna
ประเทศสหรัฐอเมริกา
ABDAmerika BirleşikAmerika Birleşik Devletleri
Hợp chủng quốc Hoa Kỳ

United States of America

الوِلَاياتُ الـمُتَّحِدَة Spojené státy americké de Forenede Stater Vereinigte Staaten Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες Estados Unidos Yhdysvallat États-Unis Sjedinjene Američke Države Stati Uniti 米国 미국 Ver Amerikas forente stater Stany Zjednoczone Estados Unidos Соединенные Штаты Америки Förenta staterna ประเทศสหรัฐอเมริกา Amerika Birleşik Hợp chủng quốc Hoa Kỳ 美国
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the thirteenth day of June, in the forty-seventh year of the Independence of the United States of America, Charles Wiley, of the said District, hath deposited in this office the title of a Book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the words and figures following, to wit:
We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Through the kindness of Dorothy Gale of Kansas, afterward Princess Dorothy of Oz, an humble writer in the United States of America was once appointed Royal Historian of Oz, with the privilege of writing the chronicle of that wonderful fairyland.
* Another case, very clearly described by a dentist, occurred at the town of Columbus, in the United States of America, quite recently.
They traveled in this way through the east of the Union, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire; the north and west by New York, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin; returning to the south by Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana; they went to the southeast by Alabama and Florida, going up by Georgia and the Carolinas, visiting the center by Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and Indiana, and, after quitting the Washington station, re-entered Baltimore, where for four days one would have thought that the United States of America were seated at one immense banquet, saluting them simultaneously with the same hurrahs!
As for the Yankees, they had no other ambition than to take possession of this new continent of the sky, and to plant upon the summit of its highest elevation the star- spangled banner of the United States of America.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.
I was proud to observe that among our excursionists were three ministers of the gospel, eight doctors, sixteen or eighteen ladies, several military and naval chieftains with sounding titles, an ample crop of "Professors" of various kinds, and a gentleman who had "COMMISSIONER OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO EUROPE, ASIA, AND AFRICA" thundering after his name in one awful blast!
The Malay Archipelago is of about the size of Europe from the North Cape to the Mediterranean, and from Britain to Russia; and therefore equals all the geological formations which have been examined with any accuracy, excepting those of the United States of America. I fully agree with Mr.
AFTER an unequivocal experience of the inefficacy of the subsisting federal government, you are called upon to deliberate on a new Constitution for the United States of America. The subject speaks its own importance; comprehending in its consequences nothing less than the existence of the UNION, the safety and welfare of the parts of which it is composed, the fate of an empire in many respects the most interesting in the world.
"The Belt was captured by a little girl named Dorothy, who lives in Kansas, in the United States of America."
And you poor common people watch and applaud the job, and think it's all done for you, and never dream that it is really the grand climax of the century-long battle of commercial competition--the final death grapple between the chiefs of the Beef Trust and 'Standard Oil,' for the prize of the mastery and ownership of the United States of America!"

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