foreign aid

American  

noun

1. economic, technical, or military aid given by one nation to another for purposes of relief and rehabilitation, for economic stabilization, or for mutual defense.

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foreign aid British  

noun

1. economic and other assistance given by one country to another

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Other Word Forms

• foreign-aid
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of foreign aid

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

foreign aid

In a conference room at the agency, he laid out how the U.S. had limited foreign aid before World War II, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Still, the billions of taxpayer dollars Congress has allocated for foreign aid programs must be spent; lawmakers have insisted the government continue to fund humanitarian aid, global health and pro-democracy causes around the world.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

The 26th International Aids Conference opened this week in Rio de Janeiro against the backdrop of deep US cuts to foreign aid introduced after President Donald Trump's return to the White House last year.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Taliban authorities have vowed to boost economic self-sufficiency and move off a reliance on foreign aid, which once formed the backbone of the previous US-backed government's finances.

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

The refugee camps were run by foreign aid groups, but it was the government that permitted them to operate.

From "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park