national
adjective
of, relating to, or maintained by a nation as an organized whole or independent political unit.
Showing results for national.
Search instead for
nationful.
Jump To:
national
American
[nash-uh-nl, nash-nuhl]
/ ˈnæʃ ə nl, ˈnæʃ nəl /
adjective
-
of, relating to, or maintained by a nation as an organized whole or independent political unit.
national affairs.
-
owned, preserved, or maintained by the federal government.
a national wildlife refuge.
-
peculiar or common to the whole people of a country.
national customs.
-
devoted to one's own nation, its interests, etc.; patriotic.
to stir up national pride.
-
concerning or encompassing an entire nation.
a national radio network.
-
limited to one nation.
noun
-
nationals
plural
-
a citizen or subject of a particular nation who is entitled to its protection.
U.S. nationals living abroad.
-
Often nationals. a national competition, tournament, or the like.
We're invited to Minneapolis for the nationals.
-
a national company or organization.
national
1
British
/ ˈnæʃənəl /
adjective
-
of, involving, or relating to a nation as a whole
-
of, relating to, or characteristic of a particular nation
the national dress of Poland
-
rare nationalistic or patriotic
noun
-
a citizen or subject
-
a national newspaper
National
2
British
/ ˈnæʃənəl /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
antinationaladjective
-
nonnationaladjective
-
prenationaladjective
-
pronationaladjective
-
pseudonationaladjective
-
quasi-nationaladjective
-
subnationaladjective
-
unnationaladjective
-
antinationallyadverb
-
nationallyadverb
-
nonnationallyadverb
-
pseudonationallyadverb
-
quasi-nationallyadverb
-
unnationallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of national
Explanation
National is an adjective that refers to something or someone that belongs to a nation or country. Baseball is the national pastime of the United States. The word national describes anything that is common to, shared by, or represents a group of people or a place that is considered a nation, like the national anthem sung before the national pastime of baseball. National statistics provide information about a country as a whole. During times of war, the national mood is usually tense and sad. A national is also a citizen of a nation. You might be called an “American national” if you are an American living in Paris.
Vocabulary lists containing national
Name On: Pro Sports Team Names, Part 1
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 2
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
American Naturalization Test, List 1
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Messi’s retirement from the Argentine national team and Ronaldo’s impending retirement from Portugal’s mark the end of an unparalleled era in soccer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
It added that no suspects or motives had been identified, but the national police unit was investigating.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called for national legislation requiring frontier-model testing, employee-level access for external evaluators and tighter controls for adversaries in China, they say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Resilient Shield is one of 13 core facilities that make up the CDC's new Insight Net, a national network devoted to modeling outbreaks and disease threats.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
They wanted to free Bosnia from Austrian domination and make the province part of the independent Kingdom of Serbia, their own national state.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
California’s general election is almost here and what better day to make sure you’re registered to vote than Tuesday, National Voter Registration Day?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
Office for National Statistics reported Friday that gross domestic product increased by 0.4% in July, beating economists’ flat consensus forecast for the month.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Fixed asset investment fell 7.2% in the January-to-August period from a year ago, widening from the 6.7% decline in the first seven months of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
He's keen to remain connected to all things Welsh, and in 2025, Rhys took on the role of Welsh icon Richard Burton in the one-man show, Playing Burton, raising funds for the Welsh National Theatre.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
The air began to reek of sulfur, the rotten-egg smell reminding them of Yellowstone National Park or hot springs around Sue’s hometown in Wyoming.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
Under the new rules taking effect on Tuesday, border officials are now also required to advise Chinese nationals against travelling to countries and regions deemed "high-risk".
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Both Moscow and Kyiv have recruited thousands of foreign nationals into their armies since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine four-and-a-half years ago.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
Last year Hindus from India restarted a suspended pilgrimage to a sacred lake in Tibet, and India resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
This is almost a third of more than 7,500 UK nationals ordered to leave the 27 EU Member States over this time period.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
My baby is going to nationals in ice-skating.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
Definitions 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.
