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global

adj. · n.
US //ˈɡɫoʊbəɫ// UK //ɡlˈəʊbəl// glob·al
  1. 1 worldwide (adj.)
    B1 Intermediate

    relating to the whole world.

    concerning or encompassing the entire world; international in scope.

    Example

    Climate change is a global problem that requires every country to work together.

    Example

    The sudden shift in trade policy had an immediate global impact, disrupting supply chains from East Asia to Northern Europe.
  2. 2 total or complete (adj.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Academic

    considering all parts of something together; total.

    pertaining to the whole of a system, collection, or set of circumstances rather than specific parts.

    Example

    The manager took a global view of the project to see how the different teams fit together.

    Example

    The report provides a global assessment of the company's performance, accounting for both financial metrics and internal cultural shifts.
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  1. 3 computing scope (adj.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Computing

    in computer programming, something that can be used anywhere in the code.

    accessible from any portion of a program; having a scope that encompasses the entire execution context.

    Example

    You should avoid using too many global variables because they can make the code hard to fix.

    Example

    The developer refactored the code to encapsulate state, replacing several global variables with local parameters to improve thread safety.

    Usage

    Usually placed before the noun, such as 'global variable' or 'global constant'.
  2. 4 a global variable (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Computing

    a piece of information in a computer program that can be seen and changed from anywhere.

    a variable or identifier with global scope within a software application.

    Example

    The program crashed because two different functions tried to change the same global at the same time.

    Example

    While globals can simplify data access across disparate modules, they often introduce hidden dependencies that complicate the debugging process.
Origin

From globe + -al; compare French global.

Word family

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