DictionaryAI

foreign

SayFOR-in/ˈfɔɹɪn//ˈfɒɹɪn/AUSFOR-uhn/ˈfɔɹən/

15 meanings of foreign

Practice

  1. 1
    from abroadadjective
    Of, from, or located in a country other than one's own or the one being discussed.

    The museum displayed foreign artifacts gathered from across three continents.

    Customs officials inspected the foreign goods before allowing them through.

    UsageCommon pairings: a foreign language, a foreign country, foreign students. For the person alone, the noun is a foreigner.

    Similaroverseas

    Oppositedomestic, native

    Note

    Often the word is about origin rather than location: a foreign car can be parked in your own street. Of foreign make is the standing phrase for manufactured goods. In Baroness Orczy's The Case of Miss Elliott, a cane is judged 'undoubtedly of foreign make' because its silver ferrule bears no English hallmark. It can also say only where something is, as in foreign soil or a posting abroad.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Baroness Orczy wrote The Case of Miss Elliott. gutenberg.org
    • The book describes a cane as 'undoubtedly of foreign make' because its silver ferrule lacks an English hallmark. gutenberg.org
  2. 2
    internationaladjective
    Concerning or relating to a nation other than one's own.

    Debate over foreign policy dominated the election campaign.

    Before the vote, the committee heard from several experts on foreign affairs.

    UsageBefore a noun: foreign policy, foreign affairs, foreign trade, the foreign minister.

    Similarexternal, international, overseas

    Oppositedomestic, internal, home

  3. 3
    strange to someoneadjective
    Strange or alien; out of keeping with someone's character or nature.

    The idea of giving up was foreign to everything he believed.

    A sudden calm, foreign to her restless temperament, settled over her.

    UsageUsually after a linking verb, with to: was foreign to her nature, feels foreign to me.

    Similaralien, strange, unfamiliar, uncharacteristic

    Oppositenatural, familiar, characteristic

    Note

    Jonathan Swift, writing in 1708, could still call a design 'not so foreign from some People's Thoughts'.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Swift wrote the passage in 1708; this is a composition date, not a claim about first publication. en.wikisource.org
    • Swift used the quoted wording about a design being foreign from people's thoughts. en.wikisource.org
  4. 4
    not belonging insideadjective
    Not naturally part of or taken in by an organism or system.

    The immune system attacks cells it identifies as foreign.

    A foreign particle had lodged deep inside the engine's valve.

    UsageFixed pairings: a foreign body, a foreign object, foreign matter, a foreign substance.

    Similaralien, extraneous, external

    Oppositenative

    Note

    The yardstick is the system itself, not a border. A foreign body is anything lodged in the organism that it did not produce, from a splinter to an implant. A foreign species is one that does not naturally belong where it is found.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

  5. 5
    other stateadjectiveCanadaUS
    From a different legal jurisdiction, such as another state or province, even within the same country.

    Banks must check whether a foreign judgment is enforceable in this state.

    A company chartered in Delaware counts as foreign in California courts.

    Similarout-of-state

    Oppositedomestic

    Note

    In American and Canadian law the line falls at the state or province, not the national border. A corporation chartered in Delaware is a foreign corporation in a California court, and a judgment from another state is a foreign judgment. Lay readers should not take it to mean overseas: in legal documents the word often means simply 'from outside this jurisdiction.'

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • American law can treat another state as a foreign jurisdiction. utcourts.gov
    • Canadian law can treat another province as a foreign jurisdiction. wiki.clicklaw.bc.ca
    • A Delaware corporation is a foreign corporation in California. taxes.ca.gov
    • A judgment from another American state can be a foreign judgment. utcourts.gov

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English foreyn, from Old French forain, from Vulgar Latin *forānus ("outsider"), which comes from Latin forās or forīs ("outside, outdoors"). It replaced the native Old English elþēodiġ, and the silent -g- was added perhaps by analogy with "reign" (as also happened with "sovereign").

Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

  • Foreign descends from Middle English foreyn, borrowed from Old French forain, ultimately from Vulgar Latin *forānus. en.wiktionary.org
  • The reconstructed Vulgar Latin form means outsider and derives from Latin meaning outside. en.wiktionary.org
  • Latin forās means outside or outdoors, supporting the alternative Latin derivation. en.wiktionary.org
  • Foreign displaced the native Old English word elþēodiġ. en.wiktionary.org
  • The silent g may have been introduced by analogy with reign. en.wiktionary.org
  • The spelling of sovereign was likewise influenced by reign. en.wiktionary.org