internal

1 of 2

adjective

in·​ter·​nal in-ˈtər-nᵊl 

ˈin-ˌtər-

1

: existing or situated within the limits or surface of something: such as

a(1)

: situated near the inside of the body

(2)

: situated on the side toward the median plane of the body

b

: of, relating to, or occurring on the inside of an organized structure (such as a club, company, or state)

internal affairs

2

: relating or belonging to or existing within the mind

3

: intrinsic, inherent

internal evidence of forgery in a document

4

: present or arising within an organism or one of its parts

internal stimulus

5

: applied or intended for application through the stomach by being swallowed

an internal remedy

internality

ˌin-ˌtər-ˈna-lə-tē 

noun

internally

in-ˈtər-nᵊl-ē 

adverb

internality

2 of 2

noun

in·​ter·​nal·​i·​ty ˌin(ˌ)tərˈnalətē 

plural -es

: the quality or state of being internal : interiority

Synonyms of internal

Adjective

• inner
• interior

Examples of internal in a Sentence

Adjective

the internal structure of the planet

a patient who is experiencing internal bleeding

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Because it was originally developed as an inexpensive decoy, the airframe relies heavily on commercial off-the-shelf components and a relatively simple internal design. — Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026

Tech news and bot madness Anthropic said an internal investigation found that its Claude AI models gained unauthorized internet access and hacked three companies. — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2026

The agents, looking for information to cheat on an internal test, breached open-source developer platform Hugging Face and accessed four other accounts to facilitate the attack. — Samantha Subin, CNBC, 1 Aug. 2026

The flies instantly rewrote their internal goal and began tracking the new segment. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 1 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English internalle, from Latin internus; akin to Latin inter between

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing internal

• internal bleeding
• internal clock
• internal combustion engine
• internal medicine
• internal respiration
• internal rhyme
• internal secretion

Rhymes for internal

• diurnal
• eternal
• external
• fraternal
• infernal
• maternal
• nocturnal
• paternal
• pimpernel
• colonel
• journal
• kernel

Kids Definition

internal

adjective

in·​ter·​nal in-ˈtərn-ᵊl 

1

: existing or lying within : inner

internal structure

2

: relating to, occurring, or located in the body

3

: of, relating to, or occurring on the inside of an organized structure (as a company or state)

internal affairs

internally

-ē 

adverb

Medical Definition

internal

adjective

in·​ter·​nal in-ˈtərn-ᵊl 

1

: existing or situated within the limits or surface of something: as

a

: situated near the inside of the body

an internal layer of abdominal muscle

b

: situated on the side toward the midsagittal plane of the body

the internal surface of the lung

2

: present or arising within an organism or one of its parts

an internal stimulus

3

: applied or intended for application through the stomach by being swallowed

an internal remedy

internally

in-ˈtərn-ᵊl-ē 

adverb