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PlainSpell

state

/steɪt/noun, verb

state is spelled S-T-A-T-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 603 times per million words in written English, the 162nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, state means “A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of state is states.

How many letters and syllables are in state?

Letters5: S-T-A-T-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing603 times per million words; the 162nd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is state?

State appears 603 times per million words in written English, the 162nd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce state?

  • US /steɪt/

State has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-state.ogg, En-us-state.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with state?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as state from its last stressed vowel (/eɪt/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: taste, testa.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of state

  • states plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • stating participle, present
  • stated participle, past
  • more state comparative
  • most state superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does state mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time.

    a state of being

  2. 2

    A complete description of a system, consisting of parameters that determine all properties of the system.

  3. 3

    colloquialA mess; disorder; a bad condition or set of circumstances.

    absolute state

  4. 4

    The stable condition of a processor during a particular clock cycle.

    In the fetch state, the address of the next instruction is placed on the address bus.

  5. 5

    The set of all parameters relevant to a computation.

    The state here includes a set containing all names seen so far.

  6. 6

    The values of all parameters at some point in a computation.

    A debugger can show the state of a program at any breakpoint.

  7. 7

    The physical property of matter as solid, liquid, gas or plasma.

  8. 8

    obsoleteHighest and stationary condition, as that of maturity between growth and decline, or as that of crisis between the increase and the abating of a disease; height; acme.

verb

  1. 1

    To declare to be a fact.

    He stated that he was willing to help.

  2. 2

    To make known.

    State your intentions.

noun

as State
  1. 1

    A political entity that regulates society and the population within a definite territory.

  2. 2

    The current governing political entity in which the speaker lives.

adjective

  1. 1

    obsoleteStately.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate state?

Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of state: St., st.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

State in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchétat, État, Etat (a/the State, the sovereign country or city…), déclarer (declare to be a fact – see also assert…), indiquer (make known – see also declare, indicate…)
GermanStaat (a/the State, the sovereign country or city…), erklären (declare to be a fact – see also assert…), darlegen (make known – see also declare, indicate…), Land, Bundesland (a political division of a federation retaining…), Zustand (a condition)
Portugueseestado (a/the State, the sovereign country or city…), atestar (declare to be a fact – see also assert…), declarar, indicar (make known – see also declare, indicate…), Estado (political entity)
SpanishEstado (a/the State, the sovereign country or city…), aseverar (declare to be a fact – see also assert…), estado (a political division of a federation retaining…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does state come from?

From Middle English stat (as a noun); adopted c. 1200 from both Old French estat and Latin stātus (“manner of standing, attitude, position, carriage, manner, dress, apparel; and other senses”), from stāre (“to stand”). Doublet of estate and status. The sense of "polity" develops in the 14th century.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after state