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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

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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

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Etymology

Origin of international

First recorded in 1770–80; inter- + national

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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

The Norway international scored twice in Saturday's 3-2 victory over Ipswich Town to take his tally to eight Premier League goals for the season, leading the top-flight scoring charts once more.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

"Our reports... help communicate the scale of climate risks and the urgency of mitigation, adaptation and international cooperation."

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026

But it has become one of the more significant given its location at LAX, the gateway to Los Angeles for millions of international travelers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

England had just been beaten by Sri Lanka in the second one-day international at Headingley and coach Brendon McCullum was speaking to his players in the dressing room.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

The Soviets were all not just professional players, but grandmasters, the designation given to the highest-rated chess masters who have distinguished themselves in international tournaments.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

She has presented her own nightly interview program on CNN International since 2009.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

The company is competing for a leading position in the industry against other pure-play quantum companies like IonQ, D-Wave Quantum and Rigetti Computing, as well as bigger tech players like Google and International Business Machines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

There are myriad public transportation challenges for the next Los Angeles mayor, but perhaps none is more visible than the long-awaited Skylink people mover train at Los Angeles International Airport.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

The launch marked SpaceX's 35th commercial resupply mission for NASA, delivering scientific experiments, essential supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026

The private detectives investigating the Osage deaths had often worked for the William J. Burns International Detective Agency before venturing out on their own.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

That led to several influential players being held back, although they did give first appearances of the season to Wales and Lions internationals Taulupe Faletau and Josh Adams after injury.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

Indeed, Scott herself has launched her own YouTube show this season, One More Word WSL, which she presents on a Sunday night alongside ex-England internationals Anita Asante and Fara Williams.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

However, Fernandes was fit enough to return for the final two internationals of the extended break.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

The tour as a whole – including three T20s and three one-day internationals in April and May of next year – is not under threat, though exact dates and venues are still to be confirmed.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 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

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