State.ia.us - The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey

In short, a state is a sovereign entity. It holds supreme rule over its territory. When we say legitimate power, we simply mean power coming from a formalized position or office. It's not a street thug who's in charge simply because he can beat everybody else up.

States are defined by sovereignty over territory and a group of people. They are what we commonly call countries. [1] The United States, Great Britain, and Nigeria are all examples of states. Nations generate identity and loyalty. They are named groups who share common histories, myths, culture, economy, and rights.

Look up State, state, or States in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. State (polity), a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. Nation state, a state (usually sovereign) in which the great majority identify as a single culture (often defined as an ethnic group)

In the broadest of terms, the state is a body of government. All the rules and laws, the government officials and their titles, the physical boundaries and those who define them - these make up the state. The state is what makes a country run from a political, practical standpoint. The nation, on the other hand, is the people.