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 United States has given about $54 billion in humanitarian assistance since 2021, according to the Department of State. —Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech, The Hill, 19 Jan. 2025

Rancher associations help provide workers Ranchers must also apply to obtain workers through several federal agencies, including Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of State. —Ian Max Stevenson, Idaho Statesman, 17 Jan. 2025

Newsweek has contacted Florida's Department of State for comment via email. —Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 16 Jan. 2025

Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 legally allows the U.S. Department of State to waive passport application and file search fees for those who have a lost or damaged passport after certain eligible major disasters and the Los Angeles-area fires are an eligible major disaster. —Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2025

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.