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.
Synonym Usage
See stranger.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of foreigner
First recorded in 1375–1425, foreigner is from the late Middle English word foreiner. See foreign, -er 1
Explanation
A foreigner is someone from another country. A foreigner is not from these parts. Things that are foreign are different and unknown to people. Likewise, a foreigner is someone from a different country. An American visiting China is a foreigner. A German person visiting Canada is a foreigner. Foreigners are often tourists who check out the sights of other countries. If a foreigner decided to relocate to another country, they become an immigrant and perhaps eventually a citizen.
Vocabulary lists containing foreigner
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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.
See Examples For:
The average foreigner targeted by recruiters working for Russia is under 40, living in a poorer country and lured by the "promise of a job", she said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
If it was foreigner, then Kasper Hjulmand is a good shout though not sure how likely.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
“Why isn’t a foreigner, an Emirati, Canadian and Irish citizen, the face of this project if it’s for national security?” she said.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026
“Kafka was a foreigner everywhere, especially in Prague,” Maïa Hruska writes in her absorbing book, “Kafkaesque,” which receives a fittingly attentive translation from the French by Sam Taylor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
As for me, evidently a foreigner and so the one outlawed by Orgoreyn, that was if anything to my credit.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
The combined toll is 1,428 people dead and more than 5,649 missing, including around 800 foreigners, among them tourists and pilgrims.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
Recruiters have also targeted foreigners living in Russia without legal status, promising them residency or a passport in exchange for enlisting, Amnesty said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
On Sunday, he said the party welcomed hardworking foreigners who came to support the people of Saxony-Anhalt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
From then on, Hoxha took complete control of the island, building a settlement, banning foreigners, and limiting access even for Albanians—other than those who had proven their loyalty to his regime.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
Perhaps the naive foreigners thought that removing us from the war would lessen our hatred for the RUF.
From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah
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.
