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definitions

global

[gloh-buh l]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR global ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

pertaining to the whole world; worldwide; universal: the dream of global peace.
comprehensive.
globular; globe-shaped.
of, relating to, or using a terrestrial or celestial globe.
(of a computer operation, linguistic rule, etc.) operating on a group of similar strings, commands, etc., in a single step.

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RELATED WORDS

international, universal, overall, comprehensive, all-around, all-inclusive, all-out, blanket, catholic, cosmic, cosmopolitan, earthly, ecumenical, encyclopedic, exhaustive, general, grand, mundane, planetary, spherical

Nearby words

  1. gln,
  2. gloam,
  3. gloaming,
  4. gloat,
  5. glob,
  6. global aphasia,
  7. global community,
  8. global dimming,
  9. global economy,
  10. global positioning system

Origin of global

First recorded in 1670–80; globe + -al1
Related formsglob·al·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for global

British Dictionary definitions for global

global

adjective

covering, influencing, or relating to the whole world
comprehensive
Derived Formsglobally, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for global

global

adj.

1670s, "spherical," from globe + -al (1). Meaning "worldwide, universal" is from 1892, from French. Global village first attested 1960, popularized, if not coined, by Canadian educator Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980).

Postliterate man's electronic media contract the world to a village or tribe where everything happens to everyone at the same time: everyone knows about, and therefore participates in, everything that is happening the minute it happens. Television gives this quality of simultaneity to events in the global village. [Carpenter & McLuhan, "Explorations in Communication," 1960]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for global

global

[glō′bəl]

adj.

Having the shape of a globe; spherical.
Of or involving the entire earth; worldwide.
Comprehensive; total.
Of or relating to the eyeball.
Related formsglob′al•ly adv.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.