Word: 州 (zhōu) 州 dictionary entry zhōu prefecture; province; administrative division; state (e.g. of US); oblast (Russia); canton (Switzerland) Full dictionary entry for 州 Example sentences using 州 2 sentences, showing page 1 of 1. 古代的州比现在的县大。 Gǔdài de zhōu bǐ xiànzài de xiàn dà. A prefecture in ancient times was bigger than a county today. 美国有50个州。 Měiguó yǒu wǔshí gè zhōu. There are fifty states in the United States.