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Glite Dictionary
United States Department of State

United States Department of State

1 4.3
A US government department that handles relations with other countries
  • proper noun
  • /juːˈnaɪtɪd steɪts dɪˈpɑrtmənt əv steɪt/
  • Formal
translation icon : Departamento de Estado de los Estados Unidos
  • And then, I was fortunate enough to be selected for one of those generous programs promoted by the United States Department of State.

Examples

  • The IJ based his conclusion on the 2009 and 2010 United States Department of State Human Rights Reports (Country Reports) for Mexico.

    Blog text (27)

  • Before his appointment, he served as the director of the United States Department of State's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, and later as the deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs.

    Blog text (8)

  • She was appointed to a crucial role at the United States Department of State, focusing on diplomatic relations.

  • The United States Department of State plays a key role in shaping foreign policy and international negotiations.

  • During his tenure, he represented the United States Department of State at several international summits.

Synonyms

State Department
vsUnited States Department of State
  • Formal
419 3.4

The United States government office that decides and manages relations with other countries

is the official longer title often used in documents and formal contexts
Department of State
vsUnited States Department of State
  • Formal
14 3.4

A United States government department that handles relations with other countries

is used as the official title rather than an informal label
DoS
vsUnited States Department of State
  • Formal
3 5.1

A U.S. government department that deals with other countries

is the full official name rather than an abbreviated form

Surface Forms

United States Department of State main

Morphology

united + state + department + of + state

The parts 'United States' + 'Department' + 'State' transparently signal a U.S. governmental organizational unit, so a learner who knows the words can infer it is a government department of the United States dealing with state/national matters. However, the exact institutional role — that the 'Department of State' is the U.S. foreign affairs ministry — is a conventional, language-specific mapping that is not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so the meaning is only partially inferable.

Etymology

United States Department of State got its name because a department is a part of government and state here means the country and its affairs. This was the place where leaders kept the country's papers and spoke to other countries, so today the United States Department of State is the government office that handles 'foreign policy' and relations with other nations.