national
/ˈnaʃ(ə)n(ə)l
/adjective
1Relating to or characteristic of a nation; common to a whole nation: this policy may have been in the national interest a national newspaper...
- The two-hour show was televised on the national network so the whole country could watch.
- The national team turns the whole country orange and has a massive appeal to the fans.
- But the underlining issue is the coverage the game as a whole receives from national media.
Synonyms
state, public, federal, governmental;
civic, civil, domestic, internal, home;
popular;
ethnic, racial, cultural, tribal, indigenous, native, ethnological
nationwide, countrywide, state, coast-to-coast, general, widespread, overall, comprehensive
1.1Owned, controlled, or financially supported by the state: plans for a national art library...
- She feels at the moment there is no way to express support on a national scale.
- If we do not choose the best to control our national assets, we dare not complain when we get the worst.
- For the moment the data support a national ultrasound screening programme for aortic aneurysm.
noun
1A citizen of a particular country: a German national...
- Children of foreign nationals born prior to this date automatically received Irish citizenship.
- This status affords less legal protection than foreign nationals would receive in China.
- The outbreak of war also meant he had to return to Russia, as he was a foreign national in Germany.
Synonyms
citizen, subject, native, resident, inhabitant;
voter
2 (usually nationals) A national newspaper as opposed to a local one: the inability of the local press to compete with the nationals for news...
- He was in all the nationals and on the front page of one of the broadsheets by Saturday morning.
- The new technology could one day be extended to cover British nationals.
- The protagonist of the book is a journalist who works for a local paper and also freelances for the nationals.
3 (the National) another name for Grand National.
Origin
Late 16th century: from French, from Latin natio(n-) 'birth, race of people' (see nation).