the statea state is an independent political entity with a centralized government and set geographical boundaries where control is exercised by police or military; a state claims the right to defend itself from both internal and external threats by use of force; a state may have many villages and cities and/or millions or billions of people as in China and India of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable nutritious foodany nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, or that plants absorb, in order to maintain life and growth