- of, involving, located in, or coming from another country, area, people, etc: a foreign resident
- dealing or concerned with another country, area, people, etc: a foreign office
- not pertinent or related: a matter foreign to the discussion
- not familiar; strange
- in an abnormal place or position: foreign matter, foreign bodies
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
for•eign /ˈfɔrɪn, ˈfɑr-/USA pronunciation
adj.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- of or coming from another country or nation;
not domestic or native:foreign cars. - Government of or relating to contact or dealings with other countries:[before a noun]foreign trade deficit.
- not belonging to the place or body where found:[before a noun]some foreign matter in my soup.
- not related to or connected with the thing under consideration:an issue foreign to our discussion.
for•eign
(fôr′in, for′-),USA pronunciation adj.
for′eign•ly, adv.
for′eign•ness, n.
- of, pertaining to, or derived from another country or nation;
not native:foreign cars. - Governmentof or pertaining to contact or dealings with other countries;
connected with foreign affairs. - external to one's own country or nation:a foreign country.
- carried on abroad, or with other countries:foreign trade.
- belonging to or coming from another district, province, etc.
- located outside a specific district, province, etc.
- Lawmaking
- of or pertaining to law outside of local jurisdiction.
- of or pertaining to another jurisdiction, as of another nation or state.
- belonging to or proceeding from other persons or things:a statement supported by foreign testimony.
- not belonging to the place or body where found:foreign matter in a chemical mixture.
- not related to or connected with the thing under consideration:foreign to our discussion.
- alien in character;
irrelevant or inappropriate;
remote. - strange or unfamiliar.
- Vulgar Latin *forānus, derivative of Latin forās outside
- Old French forain, forein
- Middle English forein 1200–50
for′eign•ness, n.
- 1. 3. alien. 4. international. 11. extraneous, outside.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
foreign /ˈfɒrɪn/ adj
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'foreign' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Aberdeen
- abroad
- alien
- amakwerekwere
- aspiration
- asylum
- au pair
- auxiliaries
- axis
- balance of payments
- banana republic
- bank
- barbaric
- Beckett
- bill of exchange
- bill of lading
- Blighty
- booze cruise
- Boxer
- Brown
- bureau de change
- Butler
- Cameron
- Canning
- Carrington
- Castlereagh
- Chamberlain
- Choiseul
- Chou En-lai
- Ciano
- clean
- condominium
- consul
- Cook
- correspondent
- crib
- Dayan
- denizen
- dollar diplomacy
- domestic
- domesticate
- ecdemic
- Eden
- EFL
- else
- enclave
- endometritis
- estrange
- European Council
- exclave
