statehood

noun

state·​hood ˈstāt-ˌhu̇d How to pronounce statehood (audio)
: the condition of being a state
especially : the status of being one of the states of the U.S.

Examples of statehood in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Gantz has remained vague about his view of Palestinian statehood. Tia Goldenberg, arkansasonline.com, 4 Mar. 2024 That's right: the Buckeye State was officially granted statehood on March 1, 1803 — 27 years after the United States declared independence from Britain and 16 years after Delaware became the first U.S. state. Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 1 Mar. 2024 It is recognized as a state by only Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two other former regions of the Soviet Union that also declared statehood and have no international recognition. Andrew Higgins, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024 Riyadh now insists that no normalization of relations with Israel can occur without full Palestinian statehood. Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2024 The legacies of California’s 1849 Gold Rush and the relentless search for gold that continued decades later are well known: the rise of San Francisco; statehood; Wells Fargo; Levi’s jeans; a Bay Area football team named after the fortune-seeking miners. Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2024 And the move came at the price of diminishing the political prospects of Palestinians—who, under the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, were supposed to achieve statehood as a condition of Arab governments normalizing relations with Israel. Stephen Wertheim, Foreign Affairs, 14 Feb. 2024 However, even before the Hamas Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, critics were warning that the normalization efforts were ignoring Palestinian demands for statehood. NBC News, 19 Jan. 2024 This means not only a total repudiation of Palestinian statehood, but also a pledge to rip up what’s left of the Oslo Accords. Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'statehood.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1805, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of statehood was in 1805

Dictionary Entries Near statehood

Cite this Entry

“Statehood.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/statehood. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

statehood

noun
state·​hood ˈstāt-ˌhu̇d How to pronounce statehood (audio)
: the condition of being a state
especially : the condition or status of one of the states of the U.S.

More from Merriam-Webster on statehood

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