in state

adverb

With pomp and ceremony.

“Her grandparents moved in state last year.”

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Meanings

adverb
  1. With pomp and ceremony.

    Aunt Alexandra’s visits from the Landing were rare, and she traveled in state. She owned a bright green square Buick and a black chauffeur, both kept in an unhealthy state of tidiness, but today they were nowhere to be seen.

    1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC
    1 more example

    Emperor Ling went in state to the Hall of Virtue. As he drew near the throne, a rushing whirlwind arose in the corner of the hall and, lo! from the roof beams floated down a monstrous black serpent that coiled itself up on the very seat of majesty. The Emperor fell in a swoon.

    1925, Luo Guanzhong, translated by Charles Henry Brewitt-Taylor, Romance of the Three Kingdoms
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, state.

    Her grandparents moved in state last year.

Cite this entry
APA

in state. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20state

MLA

“in state.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20state. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in state,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20state.

Source: in state on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.