several states

English

the several states pl (plural only)

(law) The states of the United States, collectively.
- 1787, United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clauses 1 & 3:
  The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, . . . but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; . . . To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states.
- 1945, Hooven & Allison Co. v. Evatt, 324 U.S. 652, 669
  Implicit in this argument is the contention that the Philippines, while belonging to the United States as a sovereign, are not part of it; and that merchandise brought from the Philippines is an import because it originates outside of and is brought into the territory comprising the several states which are united under and by the Constitution, territory in which the constitutional prohibition against the state taxation of imports, is alone applicable.
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see several,‎ states.

states of the USA, collectively