[flawr-i-duh, flor-] 
| 1. | a state in the SE United States between the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. 9,739,992. 58,560 sq. mi. (151,670 sq. km). Capital: Tallahassee. Abbreviation: FL (for use with zip code), Fla. |
| 2. | Straits of. Also called Florida Straits, Florida Strait. an ocean passage between the Florida Keys and Cuba connecting the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. |
| Flor·i·da (flôr'ĭ-də, flŏr'-) A state of the southeast United States bordering on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. It was admitted as the 27th state in 1845. The peninsula was explored by Juan Ponce de León in 1513 and became the center of a Spanish settlement that included the southeast part of the present-day United States. Spain finally ceded the area in 1819. Tallahassee is the capital and Jacksonville the largest city. Population: 18,300,000. Flo·rid'i·an (flə-rĭd'ē-ən), Flor'i·dan (-ĭd-n) adj. |
| Florida, Straits of also Florida Strait A sea passage between Cuba and the Florida Keys, linking the Gulf of Mexico with the Atlantic Ocean. |
The southeasternmost state of the contiguous United States, bordered by Alabama and Georgia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, and the Gulf of Mexico and Alabama to the west. Its capital is Tallahassee, and its largest city is Jacksonville.
Note: Home of Walt Disney World, an amusement park near Orlando, and many other theme parks. (See Walt Disney.)
Note: Home of the Kennedy Space Center, launch site for many U.S. space missions.
Note: St. Augustine, located on the coast of Northern Florida, is the oldest city in the United States, settled in the sixteenth century by Spain.
Note: One of the Confederate states during the Civil War.
ɪ