United Kingdom

Proper noun

the United Kingdom

1. A kingdom and country in Northern Europe, comprising the four countries of England, Scotland and Wales on the island of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland on the northeastern portion of the island of Ireland since 1922.
   • Some have also called for the speaker of the parliament, Anita Annet Among, to resign. She was among high-profile Ugandan politicians sanctioned by the United States and the United Kingdom for corruption earlier this year.2024 July 22, Nimi Princewill, “Uganda’s President Museveni warns citizens they are ‘playing with fire’ over planned protests”, in CNN
   • Cybersecurity firm Semperis found that 86% of surveyed organizations in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany that faced ransomware attacks were targeted on a holiday or weekend.2024 November 25, Sean Lyngaas, “Starbucks forced to pay its baristas manually because of a ransomware attack on third-party software”, in CNN Business
2. (historical) The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922).

   Synonyms:

   Blighty, Old Blighty, Old Dart, UK

3. (historical, informal, nonstandard) The Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1801).
4. (name) A kingdom consisting of several constituencies, either actual, historical, or hypothetical.
   • the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves
   • the United Kingdom of Sweden and Norway