import

[ verb im-pawrt, -pohrt; noun im-pawrt, -pohrt ]

/ verb ɪmˈpɔrt, -ˈpoʊrt; noun ˈɪm pɔrt, -poʊrt /

verb (used with object)

to bring in (merchandise, commodities, workers, etc.) from a foreign country for use, sale, processing, reexport, or services.

to bring or introduce from one use, connection, or relation into another: foreign bodies imported into the blood; foodstuffs imported from the farm.

to convey as meaning or implication; signify: Her words imported a change of attitude.

to involve as a necessary circumstance; imply: Religion imports belief.

Computers. to bring (documents, data, etc.) into one software program from another.

Archaic. to be of consequence or importance to; concern.

verb (used without object)

to be of consequence or importance; to matter: We are friends, and it does not import that we have only just met.

noun

something that is imported from abroad; an imported commodity or article.

the act of importing or bringing in; importation, as of goods from abroad: the import of foreign cars.

consequence or importance: matters of great import.

meaning; implication; purport: He felt the import of her words.

QUIZZES

CAN YOU ACE THIS QUIZ ABOUT “COMPLIMENT” VS. “COMPLEMENT”?

Take this quiz to see if you really know the difference between “compliment” and “complement"!

Question 1 of 11

“Compliment” and “complement” had a shared meaning a long time ago, but today they are no longer interchangeable.

True

False

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of import

1400–50; late Middle English importen < Latin importāre. See im-¹, port⁵

SYNONYMS FOR import

10 significance, sense.

OTHER WORDS FROM import

im·port·a·ble, adjectiveim·port·a·bil·i·ty, nounim·port·er, nounnon·im·port, noun

o·ver·im·port, verb (used with object)pre·im·port, verb (used with object)pre·im·port, nounun·im·port·ed, adjectiveun·im·port·ing, adjective

Words nearby import

impolitic, imponderabilia, imponderable, impone, imponent, import, import quota, importance, importance of being earnest, the, important, importation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for importable

It is only to pay for importable goods that gold ever leaves the country in which the owner resides.
Money|John P. Jones
So he went back to the others among the shrubs and they all crowded round their leader full of importable news.
The Wouldbegoods|E. Nesbit
And both with one consent reioyced in reuenge, whereof the passion was importable.
The Palace of Pleasure|William Painter
Or the supply of importable food may fail by the peopling up of the countries which grow it.
Outspoken Essays|William Ralph Inge

British Dictionary definitions for importable

import

verb (ɪmˈpɔːt, ˈɪmpɔːt)

to buy or bring in (goods or services) from a foreign countryCompare export

(tr) to bring in from an outside sourceto import foreign words into the language

rare to signify or be significant; mean; conveyto import doom

noun (ˈɪmpɔːt)

(often plural)

goods (visible imports) or services (invisible imports) that are bought from foreign countries
(as modifier)an import licence

significance or importancea man of great import

meaning or signification

Canadian informal a sportsman or -woman who is not native to the country in which he or she plays

Derived forms of import

importable, adjectiveimportability, nounimporter, noun

Word Origin for import

C15: from Latin importāre to carry in, from im- + portāre to carry

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