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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 /

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

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

“The technology stack needs to be safe and secure in order to attract international customers.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

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

“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

In this sweeping international epic, black and white American soldiers protect each other under enemy fire in the African desert.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

In July, financial services platform Stripe and private equity firm Advent International made a takeover offer valued at more than $50 billion, but are said to have abandoned their pursuit, according to Bloomberg.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

According to the International Energy Agency, a data centre in the United States uses around 2 million litres per day on average.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

Stripe and Advent International reportedly made a bid to take over the payments company for $60.50 per share, valuing the company at roughly $53 billion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

“Every quarter of data that we get, I’m surprised,” said Felipe Rodriguez, a heavy-vehicle expert at the nonprofit International Council on Clean Transportation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Mir lasted longer than anyone thought it would, but it eventually began sinking in its orbit around the time that construction on the International Space Station began.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

Their bench for the win over Aston Villa contained nine full internationals with two of those - Merino and Zubimendi - World Cup winners.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 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

Andrew played 79 Tests, 141 one-day internationals and seven T20s for England and was part of the iconic 2005 Ashes series win.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 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