/ ˈfɒrən; NAmE ˈfɔːrən; ˈfɑːrən/ adjective
1.
in or from a country that is not your own :
a foreign accent / language / student
a foreign-owned company
foreign holidays
You could tell she was foreign by the way she dressed.
2.
[ only before noun ] dealing with or involving other countries :
foreign affairs / news / policy / trade
foreign aid
a foreign correspondent (= one who reports on foreign countries in newspapers or on television)
OPP domestic , home
3.
foreign to sb/sth ( formal ) not typical of sb/sth; not known to sb/sth and therefore seeming strange :
Dishonesty is foreign to his nature.
4.
foreign object / body ( formal ) an object that has entered sth by accident and should not be there :
Tears help to protect the eye from potentially harmful foreign bodies.
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English foren , forein , from Old French forein , forain , based on Latin foras , foris outside, from fores door. The current spelling arose in the 16th cent., by association with sovereign .