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• international
  international

  adjective

  between or among nations; involving two or more nations.
• International
  International

  noun

  any of several international socialist organizations See Comintern First International Labour and Socialist International Second International Socialist International Trotskyist International Vienna Union

international

American  

[in-ter-nash-uh-nl, -nash-nl] / ˌɪn tərˈnæʃ ə nl, -ˈnæʃ nl /

adjective

1. between or among nations; involving two or more nations.

   international trade.

2. of or relating to two or more nations or their citizens.

   a matter of international concern.

3. pertaining to the relations between nations.

   international law.

4. having members or activities in several nations.

   an international organization.

5. transcending national boundaries or viewpoints.

   an international benefit;

   an international reputation.

   Synonyms:

   cosmopolitan, worldwide

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noun

• internationals
  plural

1. (initial capital letter) any of several international socialist or communist organizations formed in the 19th and 20th centuries.

2. (sometimes initial capital letter) a labor union having locals in two or more countries.

3. an organization, enterprise, or group, especially a major business concern, having branches, dealings, or members in several countries.

4. an employee, especially an executive, assigned to work in a foreign country or countries by a business or organization that has branches or dealings in several countries.

international ¹ British  

/ ˌɪntəˈnæʃənəl /

adjective

1. of, concerning, or involving two or more nations or nationalities

2. established by, controlling, or legislating for several nations

   an international court

   international fishing rights

3. available for use by all nations

   international waters

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noun

1. sport

   1. a contest between two national teams

   2. a member of these teams

International ² British  

/ ˌɪntəˈnæʃənəl /

noun

1. any of several international socialist organizations See Comintern First International Labour and Socialist International Second International Socialist International Trotskyist International Vienna Union

2. a member of any of these organizations

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International Cultural  

1. An international organization of workers founded by Karl Marx (see also Marx) in the 1860s. Weakened by disputes, it was dissolved in 1876, but it was succeeded by three later Internationals, which sought to spread communism throughout the world. The most effective of these was the Third International, formed by the Soviet Union in 1919 and dissolved in 1943 by Joseph Stalin.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• internationality
  noun
• noninternational
  adjective
• pseudointernational
  adjective
• quasi-international
  adjective
• uninternational
  adjective
• internationally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• internationals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of international

First recorded in 1770–80; inter- + national

Explanation

International is an adjective that describes something that involves two or more countries, like international laws that multiple countries obey, or an international flight from France to Japan. Break international into two halves to understand its meaning. The first half is the prefix inter-, which means “among,” or “between.” In the second half, you can see the word nation. Put them together and the word literally means “among or between nations.” Driving from the United States into Canada is an international road trip since you travel from on nation to another, and an international conference has guests from all over the world.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

international International internationals

Tavares, the university’s former director of international students, said over the past few years Chinese parents fretted over the crime in Syracuse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

The relationship between the Cameroon international and Lyon's ultras fractured further when he stormed down the tunnel and kicked a rubbish bin in frustration after being substituted during a 2-1 home defeat by Strasbourg.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

Nepal appealed on Saturday for international financial assistance, as well as specialised rescue support, including heavy-lift drones, DNA testing kits, and body freezer storage units.

From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026

A Syracuse spokeswoman said she wasn’t aware of Tavares’s recommendations on attracting international students and said the dean of admissions at that time is no longer at the university.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

However, the instant I buckled up I promised myself I’d surrender the body when we got to the international bridge—no matter what.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Nashville International Airport announced Friday plans to rename BNA in honor of Parton, following a growing public campaign that surged after the country music icon’s death.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

Tristan Höver, global insight manager for hot drinks at Euromonitor International, says younger consumers increasingly see drinks as something they can tailor to a specific moment or need.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

The couple certainly couldn’t admit who they really were: Yakob Rudnik and Tatyana Moiseenko, undercover Soviet agents for the Communist International, or Comintern.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

The Orlando International Airport, by comparison, recorded a dew point of 72 degrees Friday afternoon, although that was expected to rise to 75, said meteorologist Melissa Watson of the National Weather Service in Melbourne.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

She hadn’t cared much on International Mother Language Day, but now the mistakes made her feel even worse.

From "Rickshaw Girl" by Mitali Perkins

Andrew played 79 Tests, 141 one-day internationals and seven T20s for England and was part of the iconic 2005 Ashes series win.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

The actions of the Argentina players on the pitch were heavily criticised by former England internationals.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Christopher Hall, a director in the international tax group at PKF O’Connor Davies, said the tax complications for football internationals can be head-spinning.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

Alongside Deepti, also only 28, it feels like the pair are in a tight race to become the first woman to take 400 internationals across formats.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

Many of the internationals understand the trauma of trying to get an American visa and that is a good place to start a friendship.”

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Related Words

• foreign
• global
• universal