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Synonyms

global

American  
[gloh-buhl] / ˈgloʊ bəl /

adjective

  1. pertaining to the whole world; worldwide; universal.

    the dream of global peace.

  2. comprehensive.

  3. globular; globe-shaped.

  4. of, relating to, or using a terrestrial or celestial globe.

  5. (of a computer operation, linguistic rule, etc.) operating on a group of similar strings, commands, etc., in a single step.


global British  
/ ˈɡləʊbəl /

adjective

  1. covering, influencing, or relating to the whole world

  2. comprehensive

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of global

First recorded in 1670–80; globe + -al 1

Explanation

When something is global, it's happening all over the world. It's easy to spot the connection between global and globe. When the volcano in Iceland erupted, it quickly became a global event. Sure, things were tough in Reykjavík, but the dust and ash caused airport shutdowns and schedule disruptions around the world. Michael Jackson was a star in the United States from the time he was a little boy, but after he broke up with his brothers and went solo in the 1980s, he became a global phenomenon. There was hardly a country on earth where Michael Jackson wasn't a star.

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Vocabulary lists containing global

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“The service sector is being hit especially hard by the surge in the cost of living created by the war,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

Global X India Active is also a solid actively managed choice.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

Epstein paid tens of thousands of dollars for her to train as a pilot, emails between them show, which she apparently did with great enthusiasm, promoting herself on social media as "Global Girl."

From BBC • May 19, 2026

On Monday, strategists from Cboe Global Markets shared a chart with MarketWatch showing that investors have been aggressively piling into “out-of-the-money” call options.

From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026

Unfortunately, the colony losses from 2006 to 2020 were a precursor to a much larger crisis to come, which ultimately resulted in the Global Famine of 2100.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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