national

[ nash-uh-nl, nash-nuhl ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or maintained by a nation as an organized whole or independent political unit:

   national affairs.

2. owned, preserved, or maintained by the federal government:

   a national wildlife refuge.

3. peculiar or common to the whole people of a country:

   national customs.

4. devoted to one's own nation, its interests, etc.; patriotic:

   to stir up national pride.

5. nationalist.
6. concerning or encompassing an entire nation:

   a national radio network.

7. limited to one nation.

noun

1. a citizen or subject of a particular nation who is entitled to its protection:

   U.S. nationals living abroad.

2. Often nationals. a national competition, tournament, or the like:

   We're invited to Minneapolis for the nationals.

3. a national company or organization.

national

¹

/ ˈnæʃənəl /

adjective

1. of, involving, or relating to a nation as a whole
2. of, relating to, or characteristic of a particular nation

   the national dress of Poland

3. rare.
   nationalistic or patriotic

noun

1. a citizen or subject
2. a national newspaper

National

²

/ ˈnæʃənəl /

noun

1. the National
   short for the Grand National

Derived Forms

• ˈnationally, adverb

Other Words From

• nation·al·ly adverb
• anti·nation·al adjective
• anti·nation·al·ly adverb
• non·nation·al adjective noun
• non·nation·al·ly adverb
• pre·nation·al adjective
• pro·nation·al adjective
• pseudo·nation·al adjective
• pseudo·nation·al·ly adverb
• quasi-nation·al adjective
• quasi-nation·al·ly adverb
• sub·nation·al adjective
• un·nation·al adjective
• un·nation·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of national¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; nation + -al ¹

Example Sentences

The National Glass Centre will close at the end of July 2026, Sunderland University has announced.

From BBC

The Save the National Glass Centre campaign group sent a letter to the culture secretary earlier this week.

From BBC

Historic England’s national blue plaque scheme highlights people and communities whose history has been hidden or forgotten.

From BBC

The charity National Energy Action said many people were already "rationing their energy use" or building up debt to try to keep warm.

From BBC

In a new study published in npj Nanophotonics, Naik and his former Ph.D. student Ciril Samuel Prasad -- who has since earned a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from Rice and has taken on a role as a postdoctoral research associate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory -- demonstrated a new thermal emitter that promises efficiencies of over 60% despite being application-ready.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• civil
• communal
• domestic
• ethnic
• governmental
• internal
• interstate
• nationwide
• public
• social