1. major river in the United States. It flows from southwestern Montana southeastward to join the Mississippi River in Missouri. Length: 3,726 km (2,315 mi)
2. state in the central United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. Capital: Jefferson City. Population: 5,911,605 (2008 estimate).
Area: 180,533 sq km (69,704 sq mi)
Mis·sou·ri·an noun, adjective
The U.S. state name Missouri, which derives from the name of a Native American people living in the region of the Missouri River, can be pronounced two ways, the first variant being the most common: /mi zree, , mi zrə, /.