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• international
  international

  adjective

  between or among nations; involving two or more nations.
• International
  International

  noun

  any of several international socialist organizations See Comintern First International Labour and Socialist International Second International Socialist International Trotskyist International Vienna Union

international

American  

[in-ter-nash-uh-nl, -nash-nl] / ˌɪn tərˈnæʃ ə nl, -ˈnæʃ nl /

adjective

1. 

   between or among nations; involving two or more nations.

   international trade.

2. of or relating to two or more nations or their citizens.

   a matter of international concern.

3. pertaining to the relations between nations.

   international law.

4. having members or activities in several nations.

   an international organization.

5. transcending national boundaries or viewpoints.

   an international benefit;

   an international reputation.

   Synonyms:

   cosmopolitan, worldwide

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noun

• internationals
  plural

1. (initial capital letter) any of several international socialist or communist organizations formed in the 19th and 20th centuries.

2. (sometimes initial capital letter) a labor union having locals in two or more countries.

3. an organization, enterprise, or group, especially a major business concern, having branches, dealings, or members in several countries.

4. an employee, especially an executive, assigned to work in a foreign country or countries by a business or organization that has branches or dealings in several countries.

international ¹ British  

/ ˌɪntəˈnæʃənəl /

adjective

1. of, concerning, or involving two or more nations or nationalities

2. established by, controlling, or legislating for several nations

   an international court

   international fishing rights

3. available for use by all nations

   international waters

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noun

1. sport

   1. a contest between two national teams

   2. a member of these teams

International ² British  

/ ˌɪntəˈnæʃənəl /

noun

1. any of several international socialist organizations See Comintern First International Labour and Socialist International Second International Socialist International Trotskyist International Vienna Union

2. a member of any of these organizations

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International Cultural  

1. An international organization of workers founded by Karl Marx (see also Marx) in the 1860s. Weakened by disputes, it was dissolved in 1876, but it was succeeded by three later Internationals, which sought to spread communism throughout the world. The most effective of these was the Third International, formed by the Soviet Union in 1919 and dissolved in 1943 by Joseph Stalin.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• internationality
  noun
• noninternational
  adjective
• pseudointernational
  adjective
• quasi-international
  adjective
• uninternational
  adjective
• internationally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• internationals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of international

First recorded in 1770–80; inter- + national

Explanation

International is an adjective that describes something that involves two or more countries, like international laws that multiple countries obey, or an international flight from France to Japan. Break international into two halves to understand its meaning. The first half is the prefix inter-, which means “among,” or “between.” In the second half, you can see the word nation. Put them together and the word literally means “among or between nations.” Driving from the United States into Canada is an international road trip since you travel from on nation to another, and an international conference has guests from all over the world.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

international International internationals

But the head coach will not get the much-needed time on the training ground with his squad, as many go on international duty.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Cristiano Ronaldo has been named in the first squad selected by new Portugal coach Jorge Jesus, ending speculation the 41-year-old could retire from international football.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland’s leader, said “the agreement recognizes Greenland’s interests and our place in international cooperation. This is to the benefit of us all.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

His first film since 2018’s “Burning” and this year’s selection by Korea for the international feature Oscar is Lee’s latest examination of wealth inequality.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

The international court determined that the children and teenagers of the Third Reich had been betrayed, deserted, and sacrificed by a party and a regime that had used them to attain power.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Rights group Amnesty International said an important first step towards protecting South Africa's women was to recognise femicide as a separate crime.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

TA Securities maintains its buy rating on YTL Power International, keeps target price at 6.53 ringgit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

One of those was International IDEA, an intergovernmental organization based in Stockholm and devoted to supporting and strengthening democracy around the world.

From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026

The findings were published in Food Research International.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026

He found himself booking a flight to Dulles International Airport.

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson

Sri Lanka managed just two sixes in their innings compared to England's 10, with it being only the seventh time their top five have all hit at least one in T20 internationals.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Root, who played 12 Tests and nine one-day internationals alongside Pietersen, said the former Nottinghamshire, Hampshire and Surrey batter is not afraid to speak his mind.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Former England internationals David James, Wes Brown and Lee Hendrie have all been declared bankrupt, while former Liverpool team-mate Emile Heskey lost a legal battle over an unpaid £1.637m tax bill in 2024.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

The three Saturdays in between all host Wales rugby internationals.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Many of the internationals understand the trauma of trying to get an American visa and that is a good place to start a friendship.”

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Related Words

• foreign
• global
• universal