foreigner

[fawr-uh-ner, for-]

noun

1. a person not native to or naturalized in the country or jurisdiction under consideration; alien.

   Synonyms: outlander

2. a person from outside one's community.

3. a thing produced in or brought from a foreign country.

4. Nautical.,  a foreign vessel.

foreigner

/ ˈfɒrɪnə /

noun

1. a person from a foreign country; alien

2. an outsider or interloper

3. something from a foreign country, such as a ship or product

Word History and Origins

Origin of foreigner¹

First recorded in 1375–1425, foreigner is from the late Middle English word foreiner. See foreign, -er ¹

Synonym Study

See stranger.

Example Sentences

McCullum isn’t the first foreigner to be handed the reins to the England cricket team—four of his predecessors came from Australia and Zimbabwe.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The classical framing is that such an economy exports the capital foreigners will use to buy its exported goods.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Italian investigators last week reportedly opened a probe into decades-old allegations that foreigners paid to shoot civilians on a "sniper safari" during Sarajevo's siege in the 1990s.

Read more on Barron's

Without good schools, the kingdom can’t attract qualified foreigners and their families or train its own citizens to achieve Vision 2030’s ambitious goals to become a leader in technologies like AI.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Jara has promised to build new prisons and expel foreigners convicted of drug trafficking.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• alien 
• immigrant 
• outsider 

When To Use

What is a foreigner?

A foreigner is a person from a different country than the one being referred to, as in The country was welcoming to foreigners from neighboring countries.Foreigner is a noun form of the adjective foreign, which is used to describe someone or something that is from another place, particularly another country, as in foreign country and foreign language.Foreigner can be used more generally to mean a person from outside someone’s community or group.The word foreigner is similar to words like stranger and outsider, referring to a person who is from outside a community. However, foreigner implies that a person has different customs and culture or speaks a different language. Sometimes, foreigner is used negatively to harshly judge or discriminate against a person’s culture, customs, language, or country. It implies that the person or people being discussed are not acceptable in some way—that they don’t belong where they are. Although foreigner can be used in a neutral way, it can also be used in a way that’s very offensive.Words like immigrant, refugee, and tourist more specifically indicate a person’s status.Example: The secluded island nation was known for being distrustful of foreigners and rarely allowed visitors from other countries.