foreign
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or derived from another country or nation; not native.
foreign cars.
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of or relating to contact or dealings with other countries; connected with foreign affairs.
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external to one's own country or nation.
a foreign country.
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carried on abroad, or with other countries.
foreign trade.
- Synonyms:
- international
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belonging to or coming from another district, province, etc.
-
located outside a specific district, province, etc.
-
Law.
-
of or relating to law outside of local jurisdiction.
-
of or relating to another jurisdiction, as of another nation or state.
-
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belonging to or proceeding from other persons or things.
a statement supported by foreign testimony.
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not belonging to the place or body where found.
foreign matter in a chemical mixture.
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not related to or connected with the thing under consideration.
foreign to our discussion.
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alien in character; irrelevant or inappropriate; remote.
- Synonyms:
- outside, extraneous
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strange or unfamiliar.
adjective
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of, involving, located in, or coming from another country, area, people, etc
a foreign resident
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dealing or concerned with another country, area, people, etc
a foreign office
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not pertinent or related
a matter foreign to the discussion
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not familiar; strange
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in an abnormal place or position
foreign matter
foreign bodies
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law outside the jurisdiction of a particular state; alien
Other Word Forms
- foreignly adverb
- foreignness noun
- nonforeign adjective
- nonforeignness noun
- proforeign adjective
- quasi-foreign adjective
- unforeign adjective
Etymology
Origin of foreign
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English forein, from Old French forain, forein, from unattested Vulgar Latin forānus, derivative of Latin forās “outside”
Explanation
If it has to do with other countries or their people, it is foreign, like a French movie receiving a British award for Best Foreign Film. The adjective foreign is based on the Latin word foris, meaning “outside.” A foreign exchange student goes outside of his or her country to study. When you learn a foreign language, it is outside of the one you first learned. If you sleep late on the weekends, someone might say, "Getting up early on Saturdays is a foreign concept to you." This means it's outside of your experience and knowledge.
Vocabulary lists containing foreign
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Word Generation Social Studies - Complex Questions Related to American Democracy
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List 5
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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.
"For operational security reasons, we do not comment on foreign nations' military operations," they added.
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
German and foreign security services have been warning for months about the attacks, but the potential fallout in Germany is only just becoming clear.
From Barron's • Apr. 25, 2026
He also, according to federal prosecutors, made more than $400,000 by using classified information to wager on the ousting of a foreign leader and make other related bets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026
The Justice Department says that Van Dyke then engaged in a ham-fisted scheme to cover his tracks, routing his profits to a foreign crypto account and asking Polymarket to delete his account.
From Slate • Apr. 24, 2026
The Serbian government was dedicated to the idea of a “Greater Serbia” and to the liberation of all Serbs living under foreign rule.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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.
