the United States (of America)
noun(abbreviation (the) US, (the) USA)
a large country in North America consisting of 50 states and the District of Columbia 美国；美利坚合众国 Culture AmericaAmericaThe United States of America is called by several different names, both by the people who live there and by people in other countries. These names include the USA, the United States, the US, the States and America. The official name, the United States of America, first appears in the Declaration of Independence of 1776, when the country was called 'the thirteen united States of America'. America is widely used as a name for the US, though in fact there are many other nations in the Americas (= the continents of North and South America). Songs like America the Beautiful are about the US. Other names, such as 'the land of the free', 'the land of liberty', 'God's country', 'the melting pot' and 'the greatest nation on earth', show how proud they are of their country. People in Britain and America sometimes refer humorously to each other's countries as 'the other side of the pond', meaning the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.North America refers to a continent and region, and includes the US, Canada, Mexico and Greenland. Between the US and South America is the region of Central America, which may also be considered part of North America. Sometimes the countries of Central and South America are together referred to as Latin America.America and the Americas are said to have been named after Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian explorer who sailed to South America in 1499, visiting the area that later became known as Brazil, and also the Bahamas. Vespucci believed that the land he had discovered was a new continent, not part of Asia as Christopher Columbus had thought. By 1538, the famous map-maker Gerardus Mercator was using the name 'America', the Latin form of Vespucci's name, for the New World (= North and South America, as opposed to Europe).People from the US are called Americans. People from other countries in the Americas are called by national names based on the name of their country, for example, Canadians. The adjective used to describe things from the US is American. The US is always referred to in organizations such as the American Legion and in expressions like 'the American dream'. US is also used as an adjective, as in the US Olympic team. Official names of government organizations may use United States, for example, the United States Coast Guard.Culture Britain and the USBritain and the USThe relationship between Britain and the US has always been a close one. Like all close relationships it has had difficult times. The US was first a British colony (= an area of land owned and settled by Britain), but between 1775 and 1783 the US fought a war to become independent. The US fought the British again in the War of 1812.In general, however, the two countries have felt closer to each other than to any other country, and their foreign policies have shown this. During First World War and World War Two, and more recently in the Gulf War and the Iraq War, Britain and the US supported each other. When the US looks for foreign support, Britain is usually the first country to come forward.But the special relationship that developed after 1945 is not explained only by shared political interests.The two countries share the same language and enjoy each other's literature, films and television. Many Americans have British ancestors, or relatives still living in Britain. The US government and political system is based on Britain's, and there are many Anglo-American businesses operating on both sides of the Atlantic. The special relationship was strong in the early 1980s when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister in Britain and Ronald Reagan was President of the US. Since September 11 the support given by Britain for US actions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria has led to problems at home and has affected Britain's relationships with other European countries.More About AmericaAmerica- The continent of America is divided into North America and South America. The narrow region joining North and South America is Central America.
美洲 (America) 大陆划分为北美洲 (North America) 和南美洲 (South America)，连接两地的地峡为中美洲 (Central America)。 - North America, which is a geographical term, consists of the United States of America, Canada and Mexico. Latin America, a cultural term, refers to the non-English speaking countries of Central and South America, where mainly Portuguese and Spanish are spoken. Mexico is part of Latin America.
北美洲 (North America) 是地理称谓，由美国 (United States of America)、加拿大 (Canada) 和墨西哥 (Mexico) 组成。拉丁美洲 (Latin America) 是文化称谓，指中美洲和南美洲的非英语国家，那里主要说葡萄牙语和西班牙语。墨西哥是拉丁美洲的一部分。 - The United States of America is usually shortened to the USA, the US, the States or simply America:
the United States of America（美国）通常简称为 the USA、the US、the States 或干脆叫 America： the US President 美国总统 Have you ever been to the States? 你去过美国吗？ She emigrated to America in 1995. 她 1995 年移民美国。
- American is usually used to talk about somebody or something from the United States of America:
Do you have an American passport? 你有美国护照吗？ American football 美式足球 I’m not American, I’m Canadian. 我不是美国人，我是加拿大人。
Latin American（拉丁美洲的；拉丁美洲人）和 South American（南美洲的；南美洲人）指美洲大陆的其他部分： Latin American dance music 拉丁美洲舞曲 Quite a lot of South Americans study here. 相当多的南美洲人在这里学习。
- The continent of America is divided into North America and South America. The narrow region joining North and South America is Central America.