national

1 of 2

adjective

na·​tion·​al ˈna-sh(ə-)nəl 

1

: of or relating to a nation

national boundaries

the national flag

2

: nationalist

3

: comprising or characteristic of a nationality

… his national accent was plainly audible …

—Elinor Wylie

4

: belonging to or maintained by the federal government

the National Museum of American History

5

: of, relating to, or being a coalition (see coalition sense 2) government formed by most or all major political parties usually in a crisis

nationally adverb

national

2 of 2

noun

1

: one that owes allegiance to or is under the protection of a nation without regard to the more formal status of citizen or subject

2

: a competition that is national in scope

—usually used in plural

Synonyms of national

Adjective

• federal
• civil
• internal
• municipal
• public
• government

Noun

• citizen

Choose the Right Synonym for national

citizen, subject, national mean a person owing allegiance to and entitled to the protection of a sovereign state.

citizen is preferred for one owing allegiance to a state in which sovereign power is retained by the people and sharing in the political rights of those people.

the rights of a free citizen

subject implies allegiance to a personal sovereign such as a monarch.

the king's subjects

national designates one who may claim the protection of a state and applies especially to one living or traveling outside that state.

American nationals working in the Middle East

Examples of national in a Sentence

Adjective

She won the national championship last year.

His test scores were higher than the national average.

Doing well in the Olympics is a matter of national pride.

Baseball is called America's national pastime.

The game was shown on national television.

Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

the National Museum of Art

Noun

She's a Mexican national now working in the United States.

The U.S. Nationals will be held in New York City this year.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Neither pick was a surprise based on their performances last fall, when Mendoza led Indiana to the national championship and won the Heisman Trophy and Bailey became the nation’s top pass rusher at Texas Tech. —Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026

The former state attorney general zipped up in polls conducted after Swalwell’s exit and was the top Democratic fundraiser on the national platform ActBlue this week. —Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 23 Apr. 2026

Noun

The illicit industry is closely involved in human trafficking, with foreign nationals employed to run romance and cryptocurrency scams, often after being recruited with false offers of legitimate jobs and then forced to work in conditions of near-slavery. —ABC News, 24 Apr. 2026

Four crew members, including the captain, are from Montenegro, officials said, while Croatia’s foreign ministry confirmed two Croatian nationals are also aboard. —Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 23 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1845, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing national

• anti-national
• cross-national
• gross national product
• in the national/public interest
• national anthem
• national bank
• national costume
• national debt
• national forest
• national guard
• national guardsman
• national income
• national monument
• national park
• national seashore
• national socialism
• national treasure
• sub-national

Rhymes for national

• rational
• binational
• irrational
• subnational
• transnational
• international
• multinational
• supranational

Kids Definition

national

1 of 2 adjective

na·​tion·​al ˈnash-nəl 

-ən-ᵊl

1

: of or relating to a nation

national elections

2

: belonging to or maintained by the federal government

national cemeteries

nationally

-ē

adverb

national

2 of 2 noun

1

: a person who owes allegiance to or is under the protection of a nation

2

: a competition that is national in scope

—usually used in plural

qualified for the figure skating nationals