manifest destiny

noun

often capitalized M&D

: a future event accepted as inevitable

in the mid-19th century expansion to the Pacific was regarded as the Manifest Destiny of the United States

broadly : an ostensibly benevolent or necessary policy of imperialistic expansion

Examples of manifest destiny in a Sentence

They were living in a time when expansion to the Pacific was regarded by many people as the Manifest Destiny of the United States.

Recent Examples on the Web

An architect of manifest destiny, Bancroft wrote his history in an attempt to make the United States’ founding appear inevitable, its growth inexorable, and its history ancient. —Jill Lepore, Foreign Affairs, 5 Feb. 2019

Such a manifest destiny move would gain Illinois the third-oldest NFL franchise in the Packers. —Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2025

Stone often wrote against the grain of the patriarchy, sexism, xenophobia, manifest destiny, and colonialism that characterized many other efforts the field. —Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 5 Feb. 2025

Opinions Trump’s talk of manifest destiny legitimizes a world order in which might makes right, Greg Grandin writes. —German Lopez, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above