Meaning & use

original 13 colonies

proper noun·Academic

The thirteen British colonies along the Atlantic coast of North America that declared independence in 1776 and became the United States.

See it in a sentence

Students memorized the names and locations of the original 13 colonies for the history exam.

Delaware was the first of the original 13 colonies to ratify the Constitution.

A note on using this word

Ranged from Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the north to Georgia in the south; distinct from the later states added afterward.

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