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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

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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

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Etymology

Origin of international

First recorded in 1770–80; inter- + national

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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

Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski said McDonald’s delivered another quarter of global growth, led by solid performance across much of its international business.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Becerra, 68, will also take the helm with a slate of economic opportunities: luring back Hollywood production, drawing international visitors to the 2028 Olympic Games and responsibly growing the artificial intelligence industry.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

McDonald’s MCD -0.98%decrease; down pointing triangle reported higher profit and revenue in the latest quarter, as solid performance across much of its international business offset continually sluggish sales in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Despite Pocognoli playing down the decision to leave out the 20-year-old as "not a big topic", his international career remains a curious case.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

Mom will be back any second, and if we don’t know anything about Hurricane Floyd, she’s going to make us recite every international election and natural disaster from memory.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

The International Monetary Fund forecasts that Malaysia's economy will grow by 5.2 percent in 2026, partly encouraged by data centre activity.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

Last week, Burger King owner Restaurant Brands International reported that comparable sales at the home of the Whopper jumped 8.4% from a year earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

After selling his interest in Morgans Hotel Group, Schrager teamed with Marriott International to build that company’s Edition brand, including the Edition hotel that has been in business on Sunset in West Hollywood since 2019.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

But MotoGP will still take place this weekend at the Lusail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar, with three races left in the season.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

One of the groups, the Women’s Refugee Commission, invited me to a summit in Washington, DC, in honor of International Women's Day.

From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

Brook is learning to play List A cricket in one-day internationals.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

While he has failed to convert any of his seven fifties into centuries since the Ashes, he still averages 41.57 and has scored hundreds as captain in T20s and one-day internationals in that time.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

That led to several influential players being held back, although they did give first appearances of the season to Wales and Lions internationals Taulupe Faletau and Josh Adams after injury.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

She ranks inside the top three for most goals scored by European players in internationals and has a minutes-per-goal ratio of 81.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 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

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