- a state of the N central US, in the Midwest: consists of level prairie crossed by the Illinois and Kaskaskia Rivers; mainly agricultural. Capital: Springfield. Pop: 12 653 544 (2003 est). Area: 144 858 sq km (55 930 sq miles)Abbreviation: Ill., (with zip code) IL
- a river in Illinois, flowing SW to the Mississippi. Length: 439 km (273 miles)
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
Il•li•nois
(il′ə noi′, -noiz′),USA pronunciation n.
Il•li•nois (il′ə noi′ or, sometimes, -noiz′),USA pronunciation n., pl. -nois
- Place Namesa state in the central United States: a part of the Midwest. 11,418,461; 56,400 sq. mi. (146,075 sq. km). Cap.: Springfield. Abbr.: IL (for use with zip code), Ill.
- Place Namesa river flowing SW from NE Illinois to the Mississippi River: connected by a canal with Lake Michigan. 273 mi. (440 km) long.
- The pronunciation of Illinois with a final
(z),USA pronunciation which occurs chiefly among less educated speakers, is least common in Illinois itself, increasing in frequency as distance from the state increases.
Il•li•nois (il′ə noi′ or, sometimes, -noiz′),USA pronunciation n., pl. -nois
-
(-noi′, -noiz′).USA pronunciation
- a member of a confederacy of North American Indians of Algonquian stock, formerly occupying Illinois and adjoining regions westward.
- the Algonquian language of the Illinois and Miami Indians.
- an unidentified Algonquian language, apparently literally, one who sounds normal (i.e., speaks an Algonquian language), if equivalent. to Proto-Algonquian *elen- ordinary + *-we· make sound
- French, earlier Eriniouai, Ilinoués, etc.
- 1715–25, American.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Illinois /ˌɪlɪˈnɔɪ/ n
'Illinois' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Chicago
- Evanston
- IL
- Ill.
- Ohio
- Old Northwest
- Peoria
- Rockford
- Springfield
- Abe Lincoln in Illinois
- Addison
- Algonquian
- Alsip
- Altgeld
- Alton
- Arlington Heights
- Aurora
- Bartlett
- Batavia
- Belleville
- Bellwood
- Belvidere
- Bensenville
- Berwyn
- Big Muddy River
- Black Hawk War
- Bloomingdale
- Bloomington
- Blue Island
- Bolingbrook
- Bourbonnais
- Bradley
- Bridge View
- Brookfield
- Buffalo Grove
- Burbank
- bur oak
- Cabet
- Cahokia
- Cahokia Mounds
- Calumet City
- canton
- Carbondale
- Carol Stream
- Carpentersville
- Centralia
- champaign
- Charleston
- Chicago Heights
- Chicago Ridge