noun
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the act, business, or process of importing goods or services
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an imported product or service
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of importation
Explanation
Importation is what happens when goods are purchased from a foreign country to be sold at home. The importation of cars into the U.S. is what makes it possible for you to buy a Honda or a BMW. If two countries have a trade agreement, it means they've worked out a deal for importation and exportation. When lobster is shipped from Maine and sold in China, that's exportation, and when macarons are baked in Paris and sold in New York, that's U.S. importation. The noun importation comes from the verb import, which first meant "convey information" and then "bring in goods from abroad," from the Latin portare, "to carry."
Vocabulary lists containing importation
Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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The 18th Amendment (1919)
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5.4: The Second Industrial Revolution (Sources 1–8)
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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.
Maduro has denied the charges he originally faced: "narco-terrorism" conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices as well as conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
The same day, the U.S. announced an outright ban on the importation of large bikes from Canada starting Sept. 29.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Among the many changes wrought by the North American Free Trade Agreement was the termination, in 1997, of the U.S. ban on the importation of Mexican avocados.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
And the Federal Communications Commission this week banned the importation of new foreign-made humanoid robots.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Hazleton Research Products is a division of Coming, Inc. Coming’s Hazleton unit is involved with the importation and sale of laboratory animals.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
