NATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Nation mean? 

• NATION (noun)
  The noun NATION has 4 senses:

1. a politically organized body of people under a single government

2. the people who live in a nation or country

3. United States prohibitionist who raided saloons and destroyed bottles of liquor with a hatchet (1846-1911)

4. a federation of tribes (especially Native American tribes)

  Familiarity information: NATION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A politically organized body of people under a single government

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

body politic; commonwealth; country; land; nation; res publica; state

Context example:

an industrialized land

Hypernyms ("nation" is a kind of...):

political entity; political unit (a unit with political responsibilities)

Meronyms (parts of "nation"):

estate; estate of the realm; the three estates (a major social class or order of persons regarded collectively as part of the body politic of the country (especially in the United Kingdom) and formerly possessing distinct political rights)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "nation"):

foreign country (any state of which one is not a citizen)

ally (a friendly nation)

city-state; city state (a state consisting of a sovereign city)

great power; major power; power; superpower; world power (a state powerful enough to influence events throughout the world)

sea power (a nation that possesses formidable naval strength)

suzerain (a state exercising a degree of dominion over a dependent state especially in its foreign affairs)

renegade state; rogue nation; rogue state (a state that does not respect other states in its international actions)

Reich (the German state)

Dominion (one of the self-governing nations in the British Commonwealth)

developing country (a country that is poor and whose citizens are mostly agricultural workers but that wants to become more advanced socially and economically)

commonwealth country (any of the countries in the British Commonwealth)

Instance hyponyms:

Eelam; Tamil Eelam (the independent state that the Tamil Tigers have fought for)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The people who live in a nation or country

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

country; land; nation

Context example:

the whole country worshipped him

Hypernyms ("nation" is a kind of...):

people ((plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively)

Meronyms (members of "nation"):

national; subject (a person who owes allegiance to that nation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "nation"):

British; British people; Brits (the people of Great Britain)

English; English people (the people of England)

Irish; Irish people (people of Ireland or of Irish extraction)

French; French people (the people of France)

Spanish; Spanish people (the people of Spain)

Swiss; Swiss people (the natives or inhabitants of Switzerland)

Dutch; Dutch people (the people of the Netherlands)

Sense 3

Meaning:

United States prohibitionist who raided saloons and destroyed bottles of liquor with a hatchet (1846-1911)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Carry Amelia Moore Nation; Carry Nation; Nation

Instance hypernyms:

dry; prohibitionist (a reformer who opposes the use of intoxicating beverages)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A federation of tribes (especially Native American tribes)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Context example:

the Shawnee nation

Hypernyms ("nation" is a kind of...):

confederacy; confederation; federation (a union of political organizations)

Domain region:

America; the States; U.S.; U.S.A.; United States; United States of America; US; USA (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)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "nation"):

federation of tribes; tribe (a federation (as of American Indians))

 Context examples 

"Don't you think the English nation perfect in every respect?" asked Sallie.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Relating to, concerned with, limited to, owned by, or in the interests of a particular nation.

(National, NCI Thesaurus)

Founded in 1991 as a partnership between the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Produce for Better Health Foundation, 5 A Day is the nation's largest public/private partnership for nutrition.

(Five-A-Day Program, NCI Thesaurus)

Concerning or belonging to two or more nations.

(International, NCI Thesaurus)

The political organization by which a state or nation is ruled.

(Government, NCI Thesaurus)

Indeed, when you have Mars in your sign, it can help you light nations to your cause.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

“And what other nations have you seen in your travels, good sir?” asked Alleyne Edricson.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Symptomatic ventricular disease takes a growing toll on the health of nations.

(NFAT Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

System of classification based on nation from which a person originates, regardless of the nation in which he/she currently resides.

(National Origin, NCI Thesaurus)

I have many pamphlets to finish, said he to Catherine, before I can close my eyes, and perhaps may be poring over the affairs of the nation for hours after you are asleep.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)