DictionaryAI

state

STAYT/steɪt/

Pluralstates

Verbstates, stating, stated

18 meanings of state

Practice

  1. 1
    region (federation)nouncountable
    A self-governing region within a federation, such as those in the United States, Mexico, Nigeria, or India, that retains significant autonomy.

    The governor of each state sets policies that differ from federal rules.

    Nigeria is divided into thirty-six states, each with its own legislature.

    UsageUsually lowercase before a name: the state of Texas.

    Note

    Inside a federation the word sets the parts against the whole. The Tenth Amendment, proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1791, reserves powers "to the States respectively, or to the people," with the United States as the union above them. Australia also divides taxing powers between the federal government and its states.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

  2. 2
    nouncountable
    A country or community organized under its own independent government, or that government itself.

    A modern state collects taxes to fund public services.

    Diplomats from several states gathered to negotiate the treaty.

    UsageCountry is the everyday word; state stresses the government: the state pays for schools.

    Similarnation, country, government

    Note

    Older writing often capitalizes it as the State, to mark sovereign power as an abstraction. With the definite article it names authority itself rather than any one country. Einstein uses it this way in his advice never to act against conscience "even if the state demands it." With a or in the plural it counts particular countries instead: a state, several states.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • Einstein advised against acting contrary to conscience, using the quoted words about the state. en.wiktionary.org
  3. 3
    say clearlyverbtransitive
    To make something known by saying or writing it.

    The company stated its position on the merger publicly.

    Applicants must state their preferences on the form.

    UsageMore formal than say or tell: state your name, state clearly that you agree.

    Similardeclare, announce, express, specify, indicate

    Oppositeconceal, withhold

  4. 4
    general conditionnouncountable
    The condition or set of circumstances something is in at a given time.

    The negotiators described the current state of the talks as fragile.

    Her emotional state improved once the stress at work eased.

    UsageUsually a state of + a condition: a state of shock, a state of emergency; or in a good or bad state.

    Similarcondition, situation, status, shape, position

    Note

    A state is how things stand. It usually takes of, which can name the condition itself (a state of emergency, "no very mild state of fear" in the American novelist Winston Churchill's The Celebrity of 1897) or what is in it, as in Dryden's "present State of things."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Winston Churchill was an American novelist. en.wikipedia.org
    • The quoted wording occurs in Churchill's The Celebrity, in the narration of John Crocker. gutenberg.org
    • The words "present State of things" occur in Dryden's writing. en.wikisource.org
  5. 5
    adjective
    Funded, supplied, owned, or operated by the government, as with a state school, state pension, or state broadcaster.

    Critics say the state broadcaster rarely reports on the protests.

    Without state funding, the small museum would have closed years ago.

    UsageBefore a noun: state school, state pension, state television.

    Similarpublic

    Oppositeprivate

More uses

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English stat, adopted around 1200 from both Old French estat and Latin status ("manner of standing, position, condition, dress"), from stāre ("to stand"). It is a doublet of estate and status, and the "polity" sense developed in the 14th century, with the verb first attested near the start of the 16th century.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 8 facts