- in or from a country that is not your own
- What foreign languages do you speak?
- It can be a challenge at first living in a foreign country.
- I went to the bank to get some foreign currency.
- a foreign-owned company
- foreign holidays
- He spoke with a foreign accent.
Extra ExamplesTopics Holidaysa2- She had no money and was alone in a foreign country.
- The cinema often shows foreign films.
- The collection of plants includes many native and foreign species.
- There were very few foreign cars on the roads in those days.
- Tourism is the country's biggest foreign currency earner.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- look
- sound
- …
- slightly
- distinctly
Definitions on the go
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- [only before noun] dealing with or involving other countries
- This is a huge departure for the country's foreign policy.
- The country relies heavily on foreign aid.
- The area is trying to attract foreign investment.
- Iran's foreign ministry
- the Japanese foreign minister
- a foreign correspondent (= one who reports on foreign countries in newspapers or on television)
Extra ExamplesTopics Politicsa2- The new president had no experience of foreign affairs.
- There have been changes in both domestic and foreign policy.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- look
- sound
- …
- slightly
- distinctly
- foreign to somebody/something (formal) not typical of somebody/something; not known to somebody/something and therefore seeming strange
- Dishonesty is foreign to his nature.
- This kind of attitude is completely foreign to her.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- feel
- seem
- …
- very
- completely
- entirely
- …
- foreign object/body (formal) an object that has entered something by accident and should not be there
- Tears help to protect the eye from potentially harmful foreign bodies.
More Like This Silent lettersSilent letters
Word OriginMiddle English foren, forein, from Old French forein, forain, based on Latin foras, foris ‘outside’, from fores ‘door’. The current spelling arose in the 16th cent., by association with sovereign.
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foreign