national
adjective
of, relating to, or maintained by a nation as an organized whole or independent political unit.
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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.
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owned, preserved, or maintained by the federal government.
a national wildlife refuge.
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peculiar or common to the whole people of a country.
national customs.
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devoted to one's own nation, its interests, etc.; patriotic.
to stir up national pride.
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concerning or encompassing an entire nation.
a national radio network.
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limited to one nation.
noun
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nationals
plural
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a citizen or subject of a particular nation who is entitled to its protection.
U.S. nationals living abroad.
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Often nationals. a national competition, tournament, or the like.
We're invited to Minneapolis for the nationals.
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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
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rare nationalistic or patriotic
noun
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a citizen or subject
-
a national newspaper
National
2
British
/ ˈnæʃənəl /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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antinationaladjective
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nonnationaladjective
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prenationaladjective
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pronationaladjective
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pseudonationaladjective
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quasi-nationaladjective
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subnationaladjective
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unnationaladjective
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antinationallyadverb
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nationallyadverb
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nonnationallyadverb
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pseudonationallyadverb
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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
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 2
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American Naturalization Test, List 1
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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.
See Examples For:
And a group of MPs is calling on the government to develop a national strategy to address the problem.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
In college football’s very recent history, Saturday’s run of upsets would have put each losing program’s national title hopes on life support—and knocked the two-loss teams, Texas and Alabama, out of the running altogether.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
The dogs are also an important national symbol, having been officially designated part of Peru's cultural heritage in 2000.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
Hillman: “I want to play on a national championship team.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026
“It’s very odd, Mr. President,” said McGeorge Bundy, the national security adviser.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
"The US equity sell-off reflected a reassessment of the economics underpinning the AI investment boom rather than a simple downgrade to end-demand," said National Australia Bank's Rodrigo Catril.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, there are almost a million people aged 16 to 24 known as Neets - not in education, employment or training.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
Santa Anas typically arrive in the fall, and the next three months are likely to be warmer than normal across California, according to the latest seasonal outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026
Brazil's National Institute of Meteorology reported that rainfall in Manaus was 95 percent below normal in August and 60 percent below normal in September.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
At all the thousands of people leaving the National Mall to go home and rally their own communities against climate change.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
The ECI says the exercise is necessary to prevent foreign nationals from appearing on voter rolls.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Germany has sharply increased the number of Russian nationals it deports.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
But foreign nationals aren’t allowed to take the bar in China, nor can they practice Chinese law.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Google all employ large numbers of foreign nationals, with China supplying much of the world’s top AI talent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
The winner of that final set of quiz questions will be declared our local elementary-school-level champion and will proceed to the nationals in Washington.
From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
