Washington

[ wosh-ing-tuhn, waw-shing- ]

noun
  1. Book·er T(al·ia·ferro) [book-er tol-uh-ver], /ˈbʊk ər ˈtɒl ə vər/, 1856–1915, U.S. reformer, educator, author, and lecturer.

  2. George, 1732–99, American general and political leader: 1st president of the United States 1789–97.

  1. Martha Martha Dandridge, 1732–1802, wife of George.

  2. Also called Washington, D.C. the capital of the United States, on the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia: coextensive with the District of Columbia. Abbreviation: Wash.

  3. Also called Washington State. a state in the northwestern United States, on the Pacific coast. 68,192 square miles (176,615 square kilometers). Capital: Olympia. Abbreviations: WA (for use with zip code), Wash.

  4. a city in southwestern Pennsylvania.

  5. a city in southwestern Indiana.

  6. a town in central Illinois.

  7. Mount Washington, a mountain in northern New Hampshire, in the White Mountains: highest peak in the northeastern United States. 6,293 feet (1,918 meters).

  8. Lake Washington, a lake in western Washington, near Seattle. 20 miles (32 kilometers) long.

  9. a male given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Washington in a sentence

  • The succession to the presidency of William Howard Taft weakened Booker Washington's position.

    Up From History, Part 4 | David Frum | February 4, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Booker Washington is a great, a decisive authority on this question.

    The Brothers' War | John Calvin Reed
  • Booker Washington in preaching this is the only real American prophet of the day.

    The Brothers' War | John Calvin Reed
  • We must help Booker Washington and his co-laborers to the utmost.

    The Brothers' War | John Calvin Reed
  • This will prevent the result anticipated by Booker Washington.

    The Brothers' War | John Calvin Reed

British Dictionary definitions for Washington (1 of 2)

Washington1

/ (ˈwɒʃɪŋtən) /


noun
  1. a state of the northwestern US, on the Pacific: consists of the Coast Range and the Olympic Mountains in the west and the Columbia Plateau in the east. Capital: Olympia. Pop: 6 131 445 (2003 est). Area: 172 416 sq km (66 570 sq miles): Abbreviation: Wash, (with zip code) WA

  2. Also called: Washington, DC the capital of the US, coextensive with the District of Columbia and situated near the E coast on the Potomac River: site chosen by President Washington in 1790; contains the White House and the Capitol; a major educational and administrative centre. Pop: 563 384 (2003 est)

  1. a town in Tyne and Wear: designated a new town in 1964. Pop: 53 388 (2001)

  2. Mount Washington a mountain in N New Hampshire, in the White Mountains: the highest peak in the northeast US; noted for extreme weather conditions. Height: 1917 m (6288 ft)

  3. Lake Washington a lake in W Washington, forming the E boundary of the city of Seattle: linked by canal with Puget Sound. Length: about 32 km (20 miles). Width: 6 km (4 miles)

British Dictionary definitions for Washington (2 of 2)

Washington2

/ (ˈwɒʃɪŋtən) /


noun
  1. Booker T (aliaferro). 1856–1915, US Black educationalist and writer

  2. Denzil (ˈdɛnzəl). US film actor; his films include Glory (1990), Malcolm X (1992), The Hurricane (1999), and John Q. (2002)

  1. George. 1732–99, US general and statesman; first president of the US (1789–97). He was appointed commander in chief of the Continental Army (1775) at the outbreak of the War of American Independence, which ended with his defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown (1781). He presided over the convention at Philadelphia (1787) that formulated the constitution of the US and elected him president

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Washington

Washington

State in the northwestern United States bordered by British Columbia, Canada, to the north; Idaho to the east; Oregon to the south; and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Its capital is Olympia, and its largest city is Seattle. The area to the west of the Cascades, which run north and south through the middle of the state, is wet, mountainous, and forested, that to the east is arid.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.