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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 /

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 ² 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 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

His plan begins with independent evaluators inside frontier AI laboratories, followed by common safety standards among companies in democratic countries and, eventually, international coordination.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

She spent much of her career in Rome, where she developed an international reputation in a field that was overwhelmingly dominated by men.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

It’s unclear exactly how they settled on diGenova who, at 81, might not be the first person to come to mind when thinking of candidates to lead a sprawling international investigation.

From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026

Zhang had served as Novartis’s international chief commercial officer since 2024.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

He was just too young to conquer enough of the tournament veterans—each with years of experience in international competition.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Speaking to reporters at the Toronto International Film Festival, Carney denied Canada was seeking formal membership, saying: "We share the same values. We have the same priorities, and we have very complementary strengths."

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

"I left that movie a very different person than when I went in," the American actress said in an interview with AFP during the Toronto International Film Festival.

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

The announcement comes as the International Energy Agency recently projected the world will burn more coal than ever this year, as conflict in the Middle East pushes up natural gas prices.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

In 2023, the International Olympic Committee stripped Kremlev’s IBA of its role organizing Olympic boxing.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

The Odd Fellows’ Brass Band played a short selection, the Moose Band played at length, and the International Woodmen of the World, the band with the fewest members, went on forever.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

She finishes her career with 25 Test wickets, 101 in one-day internationals and 14 in T20s.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

There are also five youth one-day internationals between England and Pakistan from 2 September, placing another decision is on the horizon.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

The three Saturdays in between all host Wales rugby internationals.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 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

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