- a kingdom of NW Europe, consisting chiefly of the island of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland: became the world's leading colonial power in the 18th century; the first country to undergo the Industrial Revolution. It became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1921, after the rest of Ireland became autonomous as the Irish Free State. Primarily it is a trading nation, the chief export is services and London is the world's largest financial centre; joined the Common Market (now the European Union) in January 1973; referendum (2016) decided narrowly in favour of the UK leaving the European Union, which it did in 2020. Official language: English; Gaelic, Welsh, and other minority languages. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: pound sterling. Capital: London. Pop: 66 181 585 (2017 est). Area: 244 110 sq km (94 251 sq miles)Abbreviation: UK
See also Great Britain
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
Unit′ed King′dom,
- Place Namesa kingdom in NW Europe, consisting of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: formerly comprising Great Britain and Ireland 1801–1922. 58,610,182;
94,242 sq. mi. (244,100 sq. km). Cap.: London. Abbr.: U.K. Official name, Unit′ed King′dom of Great′ Brit′ain and North′ern Ire′land.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
United Kingdom n
'United Kingdom' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Australia
- BAA
- Bank of England
- Birmingham
- blind register
- Board of Trade
- Britain
- British
- British Empire
- British West Indies
- by-election
- Caicos Islands
- Caroline of Brunswick
- City
- Common Travel Area
- Elizabethan
- England
- English
- Gibraltar
- Great Britain
- Guernsey
- Home Guard
- Italy
- Jersey
- London
- Man
- Northern Ireland
- patrial
- Portsmouth
- pound
- pound sterling
- Regency
- Registered General Nurse
- Royal Air Force
- Royal Navy
- Scotland
- Supreme Court
- UK
- UKCC
- UKIP
- Union flag
- unitary authority
- Victoria
- Wales
- Britannia
- Common Market
- crown
- government
- Guinea
- halfpenny