INTERNAL

[adjective] [not gradable] - existing or happening inside a person, object, organization, place or countryThe bullet passed through his back and several internal organs and he died later in hospital.The bank says it will conduct its own internal investigation into the disappearance of the money.An internal (US also inter-office) memo leaked to the press indicates that there had been concern about safety standards before the accident.The removal of internal trade barriers in the European Union was expected to create between five and six million jobs.The union's campaign against the factory closure has been hampered by its internal squabbles about the action it should take.The international community is increasingly willing to intervene in the internal affairs (= political activities within a country) of countries where there is serious abuse of human rights.The parent company has so far refused to involve itself in a dispute which it regards as being internal to its subsidiary.See also interior. Compare external.An internal combustion engine is an engine which produces energy by burning fuel within itself.The internal combustion engine can run on almost anything that is flammable.(US) Internal medicine is the part of medical science that is involved in the discovery of illnesses inside the body and the treatment of them without cutting the body open.The Internal Revenue Service ( IRS) is the government department which collects most national taxes in the United States.