United States

/juːˌnaɪtɨd ˈsteɪts/

//juːˌnaɪtɨd ˈsteɪts// name

"united-states" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“United States” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A country in North America, also including Hawaii in Oceania; in full, United States of America.

Corpus desk

Index EN-united-states · United States · English

United States · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "U" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for United States
PropertyValue
HeadwordUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/juːˌnaɪtɨd ˈsteɪts/
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “United States” in English

United Statesfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

United States is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /juːˌnaɪtɨd ˈsteɪts/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for United States in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is United States, spelled U-N-I-T-E-D- -S-T-A-T-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A country in North America, also including Hawaii in Oceania; in full, United States of America.
  2. 2
    A country in North America, also including Hawaii in Oceania; in full, United States of America.
  3. 3
    The collection of individual states of the United States of America.
  4. 4
    A federal nation consisting of several states, whether actual, historical or hypothetical.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how United States appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. As soon as the war in Europe had embraced those powers with whom the United States have the most extensive relations there was reason to apprehend that our intercourse with them might be interrupted and our disposition for peace drawn into question by the suspicions too often entertained by belligerent nations.
  2. As we have seen, people migrated to the United States for a variety of reasons. But nearly all shared two great hopes: the hope for personal freedom and the hope for economic opportunity.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "United States"?
"United States" is spelled U-N-I-T-E-D- -S-T-A-T-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /juːˌnaɪtɨd ˈsteɪts/.
What does "United States" mean?
As a proper noun, "United States" means: A country in North America, also including Hawaii in Oceania; in full, United States of America.
How do you pronounce "United States"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "United States" is /juːˌnaɪtɨd ˈsteɪts/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "United States" come from?
"United States" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list