foreign-flag
Americanadjective
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(of a vessel or aircraft) having a registry under a nationality other than one's own.
rivalry between U.S.-flag freighters and foreign-flag ships.
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(especially of a ship) owned by a national of one country and registered under the maritime laws of another country.
Some foreign-flag vessels are actually owned by American shipping companies.
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.
Second, shipping gasoline from Korea to Los Angeles currently costs about 12.5 cents per gallon by my calculation—roughly 25% less than shipping it from Houston, even on foreign-flag vessels operating under the waiver.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Venezuela used several of its own vessels, instead of the usual foreign-flag carriers, to get emergency shipments to Cuba, but, given its own problems, such measures are probably not sustainable over the long term.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 10, 2019
Sovereignty brought regulation, but the fleets catching the pollock were still foreign-flag.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 5, 2013
In addition, U.S. airlines have higher labor costs than many foreign-flag airlines, leaving them with less margin to offer kid-friendly amenities.”
From New York Times ● Nov. 4, 2011
U.S. unions would like to have the foreign-flag ships sail under U.S. wage scales and, ultimately, with U.S. crews.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
