commonwealth

noun

com·​mon·​wealth ˈkä-mən-ˌwelth 

 also  -ˌweltth

1

: a nation, state, or other political unit: such as

a

: one founded on law and united by compact or tacit agreement of the people for the common good

b

: one in which supreme authority is vested in the people

c

: republic

2

: a state of the U.S.

—used officially of Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia

3

often capitalized : a political unit having local autonomy but voluntarily united with the U.S.

—used officially of Puerto Rico and of the Northern Mariana Islands

4

often capitalized : an association of self-governing autonomous states more or less loosely associated in a common allegiance (as to the British crown)

5

capitalized

a

: the English state from the death of Charles I in 1649 to the Restoration in 1660

b

: protectorate sense 1b

6

capitalized : a federal union of constituent states

—used officially of Australia

7

archaic : commonweal sense 2

Synonyms

• country
• land
• nation
• sovereignty
• sovranty
• state

Examples of commonwealth in a Sentence

laws that will benefit all the citizens of the commonwealth

Recent Examples on the Web

The first lottery, slated for Nov. 25, will determine the winners for nine out of the commonwealth's 11 dispensary licensing regions. —Killian Baarlaer, The Courier-Journal, 31 Oct. 2024

Over the last few decades, there has been a boom in energy resources extraction there, creating jobs and giving a boost to the commonwealth’s economy. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 23 Oct. 2024

The subjects of this commonwealth, like the digital nomads in one of Srinivasan’s cloud civilizations, do not believe they are obligated to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024

One poll of the commonwealth from last week in showed Harris with a 50%-47% advantage (closer to four points when not rounded up), though a Wall Street Journal poll from Oct. 11 showed Trump with a one-point advantage. —Molly Bohannon, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 7

Kids Definition

commonwealth

noun

com·​mon·​wealth -ˌwelth 

1

: a political unit (as a nation or state)

2

: a state of the U.S.

—used officially of Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia

Legal Definition

commonwealth

noun

com·​mon·​wealth ˈkä-mən-ˌwelth 

1

: a nation, state, or other political unit: as

a

: one founded on law and united by compact or tacit agreement by the people for the common good

b

: one in which supreme authority is vested in the people

c

: republic

2

: a state of the U.S.

—used officially of Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia

3

often capitalized : an association of self-governing autonomous states more or less loosely associated in a common allegiance (as to the British crown)

4

often capitalized : a political unit having local autonomy but voluntarily united with the U.S.

—used officially of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands