the Foreign Office
noun
: a government department especially in Great Britain that deals with foreign affairs
Note: The official name of the British Foreign Office is now the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Examples of the Foreign Office in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Palmerston was rescued from the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and joined the Foreign Office in 2016 during a turbulent time in British politics, just months before the UK voted to withdraw from the European Union.
—
Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026
The sceptics also include some in the Foreign Office (the U.K. equivalent of the U.S. State Department) who dislike intensely the way Starmer has flattered Trump by, for example, inviting him for an unprecedented second state visit.
—Ian King, CNBC, 21 Jan. 2026
To formally present his invention, Matip is invited to a meeting at Wyvern Abbey, the country estate of George Lomax (Alex Macqueen), Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office.
—Isadora Wandermurem, Time, 15 Jan. 2026
The Russian ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office to respond to the report and to ongoing Russian hybrid operations.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
Above him, Princess Kate watched in quiet composure from the Foreign Office balcony.
—Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 12 Nov. 2025
But the British had cut all five cables at the outset of the war, forcing the Foreign Office to encode its communications and dispatch them over wireless or through other means.
—Timothy W. Ryback, The Atlantic, 11 Apr. 2025
Subsequently, other prime ministers went ahead and reduced the Foreign Office grant to the BBC, even in the midst of the Cold War, forcing it to close down or scale back some of its foreign-language services.
—Simon J. Potter, Foreign Affairs, 31 July 2023
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Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026
The sceptics also include some in the Foreign Office (the U.K. equivalent of the U.S. State Department) who dislike intensely the way Starmer has flattered Trump by, for example, inviting him for an unprecedented second state visit.
—Ian King, CNBC, 21 Jan. 2026
To formally present his invention, Matip is invited to a meeting at Wyvern Abbey, the country estate of George Lomax (Alex Macqueen), Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office.
—Isadora Wandermurem, Time, 15 Jan. 2026
The Russian ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office to respond to the report and to ongoing Russian hybrid operations.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
Above him, Princess Kate watched in quiet composure from the Foreign Office balcony.
—Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 12 Nov. 2025
But the British had cut all five cables at the outset of the war, forcing the Foreign Office to encode its communications and dispatch them over wireless or through other means.
—Timothy W. Ryback, The Atlantic, 11 Apr. 2025
Subsequently, other prime ministers went ahead and reduced the Foreign Office grant to the BBC, even in the midst of the Cold War, forcing it to close down or scale back some of its foreign-language services.
—Simon J. Potter, Foreign Affairs, 31 July 2023
Cite this Entry
“The Foreign Office.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20Foreign%20Office. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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