global
Pluralglobals
- 1Concerning or affecting every part of the world.
The pandemic prompted a coordinated global response from dozens of nations.
Shipping delays in one port can disrupt global supply chains for months.
UsageMostly before a noun: global warming, the global economy, on a global scale. It can be graded: more global.
Similarworldwide, international, universal
Oppositelocal
- 2Relating to or covering the whole of something rather than its separate parts; overall or total.
The editor made a global change, updating the spelling everywhere in the document.
Reviewers praised the report's global view of the project rather than a piecemeal one.
UsageCommon in computing and editing: a global change, a global search. Where it could suggest the world, overall is clearer.
Note
Software and systems use this sense constantly: a "global Administrator" is the account whose authority covers the whole system, not one department or folder of it. The programmer's sense is the same idea applied to code, marking what every part of a program can reach.
- 3In a worldwide manner; reaching or affecting every part of the world.
The firm's founders learned to think global long before they had customers outside their own city.
Brands that think global but act local adapt their products to the tastes of each market.
UsageMostly after think or act (think global, act local); elsewhere globally is the usual adverb.
Similarworldwide, internationally
Oppositelocally
Note
Vinod K. Jain's Global Strategy (2016) records Coca-Cola wavering between "think global, act global" and "think local, act local".
Less common meanings
- 4Of a variable, able to be read or changed by every part of a program.
Storing the setting in a global variable let every module reach it without extra arguments.
Overusing global state often makes a program harder to test and debug.
UsageMostly in a global variable or global state; the opposite is local.
Oppositelocal
Note
A programmer's word, and often heard in warnings. The quip that global variables keep support engineers employed captures their reputation: because any part of the program can change them, faults are hard to trace.
- 5An identifier that is available throughout an entire program.
Each global stays in memory for as long as the program is running.
Experienced developers avoid scattering globals across many modules.
Oppositelocal
Note
Programmers' shorthand: the adjective from the whole-program variable standing on its own as a noun. A global is any identifier with program-wide scope, and the noun counts normally, with one global and many globals. It often turns up in warnings about untidy or risky code, where "too many globals" is a familiar complaint.
- 6Relating to a globe or a sphere.
- 7Having the shape of a ball or sphere; rounded on all sides.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
Formed from "globe" and the suffix "-al," comparable to French "global."
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Global is formed from globe and the suffix -al. en.wiktionary.org
- French global has a comparable formation. fr.wiktionary.org