foreign UK /ˈfɒɹɪn/US /ˈfɔɹɪn/adjective 9noun 12forms 3 adjective9 •from or belonging to a country other than the one being talked aboutThere are many more foreign students in Europe since the Erasmus scheme started. •Located outside a country or place, especially one's own.foreign markets; foreign soilHe liked visiting foreign cities. •Relating to a different nation.Plus, the Department of Justice has argued in the past that SGEs are subject to the emoluments clause, which means they cannot take payments from foreign governments. — 2025 •Not characteristic of or naturally taken in by an organism or system. •Alien; strange; uncharacteristic.It was completely foreign to their way of thinking. •Belonging to a different organization, company etc.My bank charges me $2.50 every time I use a foreign ATM. •(US, Canada) From a different legal jurisdiction (state, province), even if within the same country. •(no longer used) Held at a distance; excluded; exiled.Kept him a foreign man still; which so grieved him, / That he ran mad and died. — 1613 •(no longer used) Outside, outdoors, outdoor. noun12 •A foreign person •(informal) A foreigner: a person from another country.The messaging instructions come in two sets: one for domestics, another for the foreigns. — 2011 •A foreign vehicle •(slang) A foreign whip, a car produced abroad. •A foreign area •(dialect) An area of a community that lies outside the legal town or parish limits. •Short for various phrases, including foreign language, foreign parts, and foreign service. •(no longer used) An outsider: a person from another place or group. •(no longer used) A non-guildmember. •(no longer used) A foreign ship. •[usually plural] (no longer used) An area of a monastery outside its legal limits or serving as an outer court. •(euphemistic, no longer used) An outhouse; an outdoor toilet. formsforeigns · more foreign · most foreign
