California

[kal-uh-fawrn-yuh, -fawr-nee-uh] / ˌkæl əˈfɔrn yə, -ˈfɔr ni ə /

NOUN

u.s. state

Synonyms

WEAK

Bear Flag State Cal El Dorado Gold Coast Gold Rush State Golden Bear State Golden Poppy State Golden State La La Land Sunkist State

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It took Landon Donovan, the laid-back California kid with the number 10 on his back, to change that.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026

The incident was reported as law enforcement agencies across Southern California have been making an effort to cut down dangerous e-bike riding in the region.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

After the 2025 fires in southern California even pols like Mr. Newsom at least pretended to acknowledge the need to manage the Golden State’s landscape aggressively to reduce fire risk.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

Questions about investigations over Fifa's ticket prices - launched by the attorneys general of California, New Jersey, New York and now Texas - were batted away.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

I don’t want to feel this confusion anymore, one piece of me in California, and another piece of me left behind on the other side of the country.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy