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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 /

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 ² 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 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

This increases costs, as the reshored goods are usually more expensive than international equivalents, which will drive further inflation.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

Garbo and an international group of researchers have been relying on remote sensing to monitor Petermann Glacier and follow changes in its floating ice tongue.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

Domestic and international carriers have canceled an average of 86 flights a day since Sept. 1, according to tracking specialist Flightradar24.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

“I regularly interact with international and national leaders, and I want to assure you, we have an international, a national reputation for our work on environmental concerns,” Bass said at the L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Betsie engaged the young woman in a discussion of winter fashions and Father pinned Karel in a corner with questions of the most international and impersonal nature.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

“We forecast FY31 Qantas International Ebit of A$1.28 billion, with the FY26 disclosure increasing our confidence in the earnings path,” MS says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

The International Monetary Fund's loan provides substantially less money than Senegal needs, but serves as a solid foundation by which the country can secure more financing.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Malek Ghazi was handed over to the Lebanese army by the International Committee of the Red Cross, while Israel says four more Lebanese civilians will be released on Friday.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

The company said it received tariff refunds of more than $140 million in the quarter, representing nearly all of the tariffs it paid under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

He found himself booking a flight to Dulles International Airport.

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson

The 25-year-old also joins a unique trio of players that have broken the British transfer record twice in their careers during the Premier League era along with former England internationals Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

CricViz: Since the start of 2016 in men's internationals, 43 players have scored at least 1,500 runs in men's Tests, 1,000 runs in ODIs and 500 runs in T20Is.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

There are also five youth one-day internationals between England and Pakistan from 2 September, placing another decision is on the horizon.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Head coach Tandy has finished his first season in charge with nine defeats and three wins in 12 internationals with those victories coming against Italy, Fiji and Japan.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 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