Department of State

noun phrase

: the part of the U.S. government that is responsible for how the U.S. deals with other countries

Examples of Department of State in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The lawsuit claimed guidance issued on Nov. 7 by the Pennsylvania Department of State that provisional ballots should be counted despite missing signatures by election officials violated state law. —Barnini Chakraborty, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Nov. 2024

According to the Michigan Department of State, more than 5.5 million (5,579,317) Michiganders cast their ballots in the 2020 presidential election. —Darcie Moran, Detroit Free Press, 20 Nov. 2024

Tulsi Gabbard is someone who has met with war criminals, violated the Department of State's guidance and secretly, clandestinely went to Syria and met with Assad, who gassed and attacked his own people with chemical weapons. —NBC News, 17 Nov. 2024

In fiscal year 2023, the U.S. Department of State issued more than 24 million passport books and cards. —Cheryl V. Jackson, The Indianapolis Star, 7 Nov. 2024

Legal Definition

Department of State

Agency

federal executive division responsible for carrying out U.S. foreign policy. It is the president's principal means of conducting treaty negotiations and effecting agreements with foreign nations. Under its control are the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, seven bureaus of political affairs, the U.S. Foreign Service (including 270 embassies, consulates, and diplomatic missions, and numerous subagencies), and various offices of diplomatic security, foreign intelligence, policy analysis, international narcotics control, protocol, and passport and medical services. The department's legal adviser advises the secretary of state on all matters of international law arising in the conduct of foreign relations.