external
Pluralexternals
- 1Located on or forming the outside of something; on the exterior.
The building's external staircase was added during a later renovation.
Rust had begun to form on the tank's external surface.
UsageUsually before a noun: external walls, an external pocket; the opposite is internal.
Similarexterior, outer, outside, outward
Oppositeinternal, interior, inner, inside
Note
Here it simply marks position, as with pipework run along a building's face. Older writers already stretch it. Shakespeare sets "external gifts" beside virtues, and Milton's "external things" are what lies beyond the mind, close to the philosophical meaning.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Shakespeare juxtaposes external gifts and virtues; King Henry speaks the words in Henry VI, Part 1. en.wikisource.org
- Milton uses external things for objects represented to the mind through the senses, supporting the note's interpretation. gutenberg.org
- 2Provided or supplied by a person or organization outside the entity in question.
The audit was conducted by external reviewers with no ties to the firm.
The startup relied on external funding through its first two years.
UsageOften external funding, external help, external reviewers; sometimes external to a group.
Similaroutside, independent
- 3Not intrinsic or essential to something; arising from outside factors rather than from its own nature.
Fame and wealth are external goods that contribute little to lasting happiness.
The committee judged each entry on its merits, setting aside external considerations like the author's reputation.
UsageOften external factors or external rewards, set against what comes from within.
Similarextrinsic, extraneous, accidental
Oppositeintrinsic, inherent, essential, internal
Note
Accidental is its near-synonym in the old philosophical sense: what is external belongs to a thing's circumstances, not its nature. Richard Chenevix Trench's Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord (1846) shows the natural pairing in "the external circumstances are greatly different." Unlike the "merely apparent" meaning, nothing false is implied, only something beside the point.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Accidental has a philosophical sense referring to what does not belong to a thing's essence. en.wikipedia.org
- Richard Chenevix Trench wrote Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord. books.google.com
- The quoted wording is attributed to Trench's Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord. en.wiktionary.org
- 4In computing, located outside the main computer or its main memory, either as a separate connected device or as storage such as a disk or drive.
He backed up his files to an external drive before reinstalling the operating system.
The laptop supports two external monitors through its docking station.
UsageOften an external drive, an external hard drive, an external monitor.
Note
Hardware vocabulary: an external drive, monitor or keyboard sits in its own housing and connects through an interface such as USB, while internal parts are installed inside the case. Peripheral is the broader near-synonym. The word also covers data kept on a disk or drive during work rather than in the main memory.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- An external drive has a separate enclosure. seagate.com
- External hardware can connect through USB. seagate.com
- Internal components are inside the computer case, and peripherals can include internal devices. courses.lumenlearning.com
- External memory includes secondary storage, as distinguished from main memory. ibm.com
- 5Relating to or involving foreign nations or institutions rather than domestic ones.
India's Ministry of External Affairs manages the country's diplomatic relations.
The senator warned that external debt had grown faster than the economy itself.
UsageCommon combinations include external affairs, external debt, and external trade.
Similarforeign
- 6Situated near or toward the surface of the body rather than deep within it.
Paramedics saw no external bleeding but suspected internal injuries from the crash.
The external ear funnels sound waves toward the eardrum.
UsageOften external bleeding or external injuries, as opposed to internal ones.
Similarouter, superficial
Note
A word of position in anatomical names, set against deeper counterparts. The external ear is the familiar case, and a number of veins, arteries and muscles are named external, often because they lie nearer the surface than their partners. In clinical talk the same contrast separates external bleeding, which flows out of the body, from injury hidden inside.
- 7Having existence independent of the mind; belonging to objective reality rather than to thought or perception.
Skeptics question whether we can ever prove that external objects exist.
The instruments were designed to record external conditions, not the observer's impressions of them.
UsageUsually the external world or external reality.
Oppositesubjective, mental, internal
- 8Of a medicine or similar substance: intended for application to the outside of the body rather than for swallowing or injection.
The pharmacist labeled the ointment for external use only.
Many external antiseptics are toxic if swallowed.
UsageMost often in the fixed warning for external use only.
Similartopical
Oppositeinternal
Note
The label word of the medicine cabinet covers ointments, liniments and antiseptic solutions meant for the skin and never for swallowing.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- External-use medicines include ointments applied to the skin. safetyandquality.gov.au
- Liniments can carry the quoted warning and be intended for skin application rather than swallowing. dailymed.nlm.nih.gov
- Antiseptic solutions can carry the exact warning "for external use only" and are not intended for swallowing. dailymed.nlm.nih.gov
Less common meanings
- 9Having merely the outward appearance or show of something; apparent rather than genuine.
His external composure masked a growing panic.
Their devotion was purely external, performed for the neighbors rather than truly felt.
Similarsuperficial
- 10Outward features or appearances of something, as opposed to its inner nature or essential character.
The new church cared less about the externals of worship, like robes and candles, and more about daily kindness.
Voters often respond to externals such as posture, voice and dress more than to policy.
UsageOften the externals of something; people judge by externals such as clothes.
Similartrappings, appearances
Oppositeessentials, substance
Note
Normally plural, but Letitia Elizabeth Landon's Francesca Carrara (1834) has the singular: "a decent external" given to the reconciliation of sworn enemies, a show of civility rather than its substance. It can dismiss mere trappings, but just as often it names the face shown to onlookers, which may be put on deliberately.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Letitia Elizabeth Landon wrote Francesca Carrara. en.wikisource.org
- Francesca Carrara was first published in 1834, as dated on its original title page. en.wikisource.org
- The narrator uses the singular phrase "a decent external" for the outward appearance of reconciliation between enemies. en.wikisource.org
- 11Of students or programs: registered with a university and taking its examinations without being resident at the institution.
He earned his law degree as an external student of the University of London.
External candidates sit the same examinations as those who attend lectures on campus.
UsageUsually an external student, an external degree, or an external candidate.
Similarextramural
Note
What makes a student external is that the university examines them and awards the degree without requiring them to attend. They may prepare independently, by distance learning or at an affiliated college, and the degree may rest on coursework as well as examinations.
- 12In programming, a variable or other name defined outside any function, often in another file of the program, and shared between the parts that use it.
The linker stopped with an error because an external declared in the main file was never defined anywhere.
Each module lists its externals at the top, so readers can see which values come from other parts of the program.
Note
A programmer's noun familiar from the C language and its predecessor B. An external is a variable defined outside any function, so every function can reach it by name, and code in other files can use it through an extern declaration. It lasts for the whole run of the program. Unlike the adjectives, it is countable: one external, several externals.
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Practice
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Origin
Medieval Latin externus, built on exter or exterus ("on the outside, outward") and meaning "outward, external," entered English in the late Middle English period.