State Department, the
1360
'State De,partment, the also the Department of
State the part of the US government which deals with the
US's relations with other countries. In the UK, this depart-
ment of government is called the FOREIGN OFFICE.
state-hood /'steɪthʊd/ n [U] the condition of being a) an
independent nation b) any of the states making up a
nation such as the US
State-house, statehouse /'steɪthaʊs/ n [C usually sing.] the
building where the lawyers in a US state do their work
state-less /'steɪtləs/ adj having no citizenship; not officially
belonging to any country: stateless refugees —ness n [U]
'state line n the line between two states in the US: At the end
of the trip we crossed the state line into California.
state-ly /'steɪtli/ adj 1 formal; ceremonious: The procession
moved at a slow and stately speed. 2 grand in style or size;
NOBLE: a row of tall stately columns —liness n [U]
,stately 'home n (in Britain) a large country house, usually
of historical interest and containing fine works of art,
especially one which people pay to visit → compare COUN-
TRY HOUSE, PALACE
state-ment /'steɪtmənt/ n 1 [C] something that is stated; a
written or spoken declaration, especially of a formal kind:
The police took down the witness's statement. | a signed/sworn
statement | The punishment for making false statements to the
tax authorities can be severe. | [+that] His statement that he
had nothing to do with the affair was greeted with some
scepticism. | The police have issued a statement urging the
public to cooperate in this inquiry. 2 [C] a list showing
amounts of money paid, received, owing etc, and their total:
I get a bank statement every month. 3 [U] fml expression in
words: The details of the agreement need more exact state-
ment.
Stat-en Is-land /'stætən ˌaɪlənd/ an island in the US which
is the smallest of the five BOROUGHS of New York City. A boat
called the Staten Island ferry takes passengers between
Manhattan and Staten Island. Many people whose family
origins are Italian or Irish live there.
,state of e'mergency n a state declared officially by a
government in the event of a dangerous situation, e.g.
caused by a natural happening such as a severe storm or
flood or by political protests. Once a state of emergency has
been declared, a government can act quickly and sometimes
in a way which would not usually be allowed: After the
hurricane, the President declared a state of emergency.
,state-of-the-'art adj using the most modern and recently-
developed methods, materials, or knowledge: state-of-the-art
technology
,State of the 'Union ad,dress, the a speech given in
January each year by the President of the US to CONGRESS
and the nation, in which he gives his opinion of the
economic condition of the country and explains his plans
for the future
,State ,Opening of 'Parliament, the the occasion each
year when the British Queen officially opens the Parliament
after its summer RECESS (=the period when Parliament is
closed), and makes a speech saying what the government
plans to do during the next year. This is seen as a very
traditional British event and is always shown on television.
The Queen arrives in a carriage pulled by horses, and various
officials wear colourful old-fashioned clothes. → see also
QUEEN'S SPEECH; see colour photo on page A34
,state 'park n a usually large park owned by a US state, often
in a beautiful area
,State ,Registered 'Nurse abbrev. SRN n the old name for
a REGISTERED NURSE (=a fully-trained nurse)
state-room /'steɪtruːm, -rʊm/ n a passenger's private room,
especially a large and comfortable one, on a ship
States, the /steɪts/ an informal name for the UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA
,state's at'torney also state attorney n AmE the lawyer
who represents the state in court cases: He spent three years
as assistant state's attorney for Cook County.
'state ,school n a British school which receives money from
the government and provides free education → see Feature
on page 12
,State's 'evidence, state's evidence n AmE turn State's
evidence if a criminal turns State's evidence, they give
information in a court of law about other criminals; QUEEN'S
EVIDENCE BrE
State-side, stateside /'steɪtsaɪd/ adj, adv AmE infml a word
meaning in the US or connected with the US, used by
people when they are not in the US: When were you last
Stateside?
states-man /'steɪtsmən/ n pl -men /mən/ usually apprec a
political or government leader, especially one who is
respected as being wise, honourable, and fair-minded → see
also ELDER STATESMAN —like adj —ship n [U]
'states' ,rights n [P] a principle based on the tenth AMEND-
MENT to the CONSTITUTION of the US which says that if a
particular power is not given to a particular state or forbid-
den to a state by the constitution, that power belongs to the
particular state and not to the US government. There have
been many disagreements about this in US history. It was
used as an argument in support of Southern states which
allowed SLAVERY before the CIVIL WAR and in the 20th
century by Southern opponents of the US government's
CIVIL RIGHTS programmes.
,state su,preme 'court n (in the US) the highest, most
important court in a state → see Feature on page A23
'state tax n (in the US) an amount of money which must be
paid to the state
,state 'trooper n AmE a member of a police force which
operates everywhere in a state
'state uni,versity n AmE a university which receives money
from a state to help pay its costs: The state universities in
California are well-respected.
state-wide /'steɪtwaɪd/ adj AmE affecting an entire US state:
Regulations will be local rather than statewide.
stat-ic¹ /'stætɪk/ adj 1 not moving, changing, or developing,
especially in a way that is undesirable: Prices on the stock
market are rather static at the moment. | The characters in his
novels seem rather static. → compare DYNAMIC 2 [A no comp.]
tech of or being electricity not flowing in a current, but
collecting on the surface of objects: Some people get static
electricity in their hair.
static² n [U] noise or other effects caused by electricity in the
air and blocking or spoiling regular radio or TV signals
stat-ics /'stætɪks/ n [U] the science dealing with the forces
that produce balance in objects that are not moving →
compare DYNAMICS
sta-tion¹ /'steɪʃən/ n 1 [C] a) (the building or buildings at)
a place where the stated public vehicles regularly stop so
that passengers can get on and off, goods can be loaded etc:
a bus/coach station | a tube/subway station | (AmE) a train
station b) especially BrE also railway station fml — a place like
this where trains regularly stop: I drove her to the station and
saw her off in the train. | We left from Victoria Station. | The
station waiting room 2 [C] a building that is a centre for the
usually stated kind of service or activity: a biological
research station | a lifeboat station I'd like you to come down
to the station (=police station) and answer a few questions
please, sir. | a petrol station | a polling station (=where people
vote in an election) 3 [C] an organization that broadcasts
on television or radio: I can't get/pick up (=hear) many
foreign stations on this little radio. | This programme's boring
– what's on the other station? 4 [C] a usually small military
establishment: a naval station 5 [C] a large sheep or cattle
farm in Australia or New Zealand 6 [C] old-fash one's position
in life; social rank: She married beneath her station. (=mar-
ried someone of a lower social class) 7 [U] tech (especially of
a warship) position in relation to others in a group → see
also ACTION STATIONS, COMFORT STATION, SPACE STATION
station² v [T+obj+adv/prep; often pass.] to put (especially a per-
son) into a certain place for especially military duty: Guards
were stationed round the prison. | During most of my time in
the army I was stationed in Germany. | Police officers had
stationed themselves at all the entrances to the building.
sta-tion-ar-y /'steɪʃənərɪ/ adj standing still; not mov-
ing: A stationary target is easiest to aim at. | How did you
manage to drive into a stationary vehicle?
'station break n AmE a pause during a radio or television
broadcast for local stations to give their names