Definition of: state

(stāt) noun
1. Mode of existence as determined by circumstances, external or internal; nature; condition; situation.
2. Frame of mind; mood: a state of anxiety.
3. Mode or style of living; station; especially, grand and ceremonious style; pomp; formality.
4. A sovereign political community organized under a distinct government recognized and conformed to by the people as supreme, and having jurisdiction over a given territory; a nation.
5. One of a number of political communities or bodies politic united to form one sovereign state; specifically, one of the United States: in this sense usually written State.
6. plural The legislative bodies of a nation; estates.
7. Authority of government; the territorial, political, and governmental entity comprising a state or nation.
8. Obs. A person of rank; a noble.
9. Obs. An estate; order; class of persons. See synonyms under PEOPLE.
—Department of State An executive department of the U.S. government (established in 1789), headed by the Secretary of State, which supervises the conduct of foreign affairs, directs the activities of all diplomatic and consular representatives, protects national interests abroad, and assists in the formulation of policies in relation to international problems. Also State Department.
—to lie in state To be placed on public view, with ceremony and honors, before burial.
—adjective
1. Of or pertaining to the state, nation, or government: state papers.
2. Intended for use on occasions of ceremony.
—v.t. stat·ed, stat·ing
1. To set forth explicitly in speech or writing; assert; declare.
2. To fix; determine; settle.
3. Law To make known specifically; declare as a matter of fact. See synonyms Under AFFIRM, ALLEGE, ASSERT, RELATE. [Aplietic var. of OF estat <L status condition, State <stare stand; defs. 4, 5, and 7 directly <L, as in status rei publicae the state of the republic. Doublet of STATUS.]
—sta·tal (stā′·tal) adjective