overseas
Americanadverb
adjective
-
of or relating to passage over the sea.
overseas travel.
-
situated beyond the sea.
overseas territories.
-
pertaining to countries, associations, activities, etc., beyond the sea.
overseas military service; overseas commitments.
noun
adverb
adjective
-
of, to, in, from, or situated in countries beyond the sea
-
Also: oversea. of or relating to passage over the sea
noun
Etymology
Origin of overseas
before 1150; oversea ( Middle English overse, Old English ofer sǣ; see over-, sea) + -s 3 or -s 1
Explanation
There's no trick to the meaning of overseas. If someone goes overseas, they've gone "over" the "seas" — to a foreign country. When overseas came into use, there were no airplanes, so technically speaking, one traveled "across" or "on" the seas, in a ship. Nevertheless, one was thought to have made it "over the sea," hence overseas. When traveling overseas, make sure your phone works on the network in the country where you're headed. Also, the laws and customs overseas can be very different from the ones we have here, so be careful. What here at home you consider small potatoes legally might be a big deal overseas.
Vocabulary lists containing overseas
Chapter 21: Age of Exploration and Trade
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 2–October 8, 2021
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Chapter 27: America and World War II
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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.
Cooper, who is also the party's Treasury spokesperson, said too many ideas, start-ups and research started in Britain but ended up being taken overseas.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
In addition to overseas spells in the Netherlands with Vitesse Arnhem and in Cyprus with Pafos, he has also turned out for Nottingham Forest, Reading and AFC Wimbledon.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Low rates in Japan meant that Japanese investors for years looked overseas for better returns, vacuuming up U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The image also encompassed several French overseas territories, such as Guadeloupe, Martinique -- and Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
From Barron's
He talks about being treated poorly overseas, despite the fact that he enlisted to prove he cared about his country.
From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone
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.
