overseas
- 01 B1 Intermediate
adv.in or to another country, usually one across a sea or ocean.
adv.to or in a location across a sea; used to describe travel, residence, or operations in a foreign territory.
Simple“Many students choose to study overseas to experience a different culture.”
In context“The company decided to expand its operations overseas after seeing significant demand for its products in the European and Asian markets.”
UsageTypically follows the verb of movement or state.
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 B1 Intermediate
adj.coming from, happening in, or relating to a foreign country.
adj.relating to, situated in, or coming from a country across the sea.
Simple“The university has a large number of overseas students from all over the world.”
In context“The government is reviewing its overseas aid budget to ensure the funds are reaching the most vulnerable populations effectively.”
UsageAttributive use only; it almost always appears before the noun it modifies.
Synonyms - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.used to describe people of a certain nationality who live in a different country.
adj.denoting members of an ethnic or national group living outside their ancestral or home country.
Simple“The festival was organized by the local overseas Chinese community.”
In context“The ministry established a new department to handle the specific legal and consular needs of its overseas citizens living in North America.”
Synonymsexpatriatediasporic
Usage overseas migration
“The boycott has meant a loss of about C$3.3bn ($2.35bn; £1.75bn) in travel revenue for the US last year - money that Canadians have instead chosen to spend overseas or exploring their own country.”
“But if the government was seeking to reduce overseas student numbers, I think they have overcorrected.”
From earlier oversea, equivalent to oversea + -s. Compare West Frisian oerseesk, Dutch overzees, German Übersee, Danish oversøisk.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.