foreigner
Americannoun
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a person from a foreign country; alien
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an outsider or interloper
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something from a foreign country, such as a ship or product
Usage
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.
Related Words
See stranger.
Etymology
Origin of foreigner
First recorded in 1375–1425, foreigner is from the late Middle English word foreiner. See foreign, -er 1
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.
“I was such a foreigner, a guest in that community,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
A university student said he felt like a "foreigner" after losing his ability to speak Welsh following a car crash.
From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026
They also cast him as a foreigner, despite him being from Puerto Rico, which is a U.S. territory and makes him a U.S. citizen since birth.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026
"After this year, will we be better able to recognise a pilgrim in the visitor, a seeker in the stranger, a neighbour in the foreigner, and fellow travellers in those who are different?"
From Barron's • Jan. 6, 2026
But later on, fortresses were of little value to her when Cesare Borgia attacked her and when her hostile populace joined with the foreigner.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
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.
