a government that undertakes responsibility for the welfare of its citizens through programs in public health and public housing and pensions and unemployment compensation etc.
an extended communication (often interactive) dealing with some particular topic; "the book contains an excellent discussion of modal logic"; "his treatment of the race question is badly biased"
an exchange of views on some topic; "we had a good discussion"; "we had a word or two about it"
a world organization of autonomous states that are united in allegiance to a central power but are not subordinate to it or to one another
the official name of some states in the United States (Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and Virginia and Kentucky) and associated territories (Puerto Rico)