“state noun (COUNTRY)
C1 [ C or U ]
a country or its government:
The drought is worst in the central African states.
member state Britain is one of the member states of the European Union.
The government was determined to reduce the number of state-owned industries.
Some theatres receive a small amount of funding from the state.
affairs/matters of state formal His diary included comments on affairs/matters of state (= information about government activities).”
The United States is a state. The united states that make it up are states, in a different sense of the word. The brain hurt is happening because you’re using two different definitions of the same thing really close together.
For fuck sake… : https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/state
“state noun (COUNTRY) C1 [ C or U ] a country or its government: The drought is worst in the central African states. member state Britain is one of the member states of the European Union. The government was determined to reduce the number of state-owned industries. Some theatres receive a small amount of funding from the state. affairs/matters of state formal His diary included comments on affairs/matters of state (= information about government activities).”
Still no, United States are STATES (plural), not a State (singular).
The United States is a state. The united states that make it up are states, in a different sense of the word. The brain hurt is happening because you’re using two different definitions of the same thing really close together.