Definition of "the states" []

• 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 (noun)

WordNet. Princeton University. 2010.

• "Hanging was conducted privately in Great Britain and in most of the states of the Federal Union."
• "Nearly half of the states cut provider payments in the fiscal year that ended in June, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers."
• "In the frustrated assessment of General Greene, “The local policy of all the states is directly opposed to the great national plan; and if they continue to persevere in it, God knows what the consequences will be.”"