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import
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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See also: Import
English
Pronunciation
Noun
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ĭmʹpôt, IPA(key): /ˈɪm.pɔːt/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - (General American) enPR: ĭmʹpôrt, IPA(key): /ˈɪm.pɔɹt/
- (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) enPR: ĭmʹpōrt, IPA(key): /ˈɪm.po(ː)ɹt/
- (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA(key): /ˈɪm.poət/
Verb
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ĭmpôtʹ, IPA(key): /ɪmˈpɔːt/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- (General American) enPR: ĭmpôrtʹ, IPA(key): /ɪmˈpɔɹt/
- (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) enPR: ĭmpōrtʹ, IPA(key): /ɪmˈpo(ː)ɹt/
- (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA(key): /ɪmˈpoət/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)t
Etymology 1
From Middle English importen, from Old French emporter, importer, from Latin importō (“bring in from abroad, import”, verb), from in (“in, at, on; into”) + portō (“I carry, bear; convey”).
Noun
import (countable and uncountable, plural imports)
- (countable) Something brought in from an exterior source, especially for sale or trade.
- 2025 July 17, John Towfighi, “Copper prices have surged to record highs — and they could jump higher. Here’s why”, in CNN Business:
- Trump’s July 8 announcement of a 50% tariff on copper imports beginning August 1 sent prices surging 13% in one day, up to a record high of $5.69 per pound.
- (uncountable) The practice of importing.
- (uncountable) Clipping of importance.
- It was a matter of great import.
- 2023 December 27, Christian Wolmar, “Hope springs eternal for greater use of the Channel Tunnel”, in RAIL, number 999, page 26:
- There is, too, a little mentioned aspect of the tunnel which contributes to its failings. You never see the sea while approaching it from either the British or French side. That takes away from the import of the journey - a historic link between Britain and the continent. Instead, it is just a tunnel.
- (countable, Philippines) A foreigner playing in a sports league.
Synonyms
- (the practice of importing): importation
- (significance): importancy, importance, meaning, purport, significance, tenor, weight
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “practice of importing”): export
- (antonym(s) of “something brought in from a foreign country”): export
- insignificance
Derived terms
Translations
something brought in from a foreign country
|
practice of importing
|
licence for import
significance, importance
|
Verb
import (third-person singular simple present imports, present participle importing, simple past and past participle imported)
- (transitive) To bring (something) in from a foreign country, especially for sale or trade.
- Antonym: export
- Nauru imports foods from Australia because phosphate mining destroyed land for farming.
- (transitive, computing) To load a file into a software application from another version or system.
- Antonym: export
- How can I import files from older versions of this application?
Quotations
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:import.
Derived terms
Translations
to bring in from a foreign country
|
to load files into a computer from another source
|
Etymology 2
From Italian importare, and French importer, from Latin importō.
Verb
import (third-person singular simple present imports, present participle importing, simple past and past participle imported)
- (intransitive) To be important; to be significant; to be of consequence.
- 1661, Thomas Salusbury, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
- See how much it importeth to learn to take Time by the Fore-Top.
- (transitive) To be of importance to (someone or something).
- 1593, Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost:
- This Letter is mistooke: it importeth none here: It is writ to laquenetta.
- 1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page number):
- If I endure it, what imports it you?
- (transitive) To be incumbent on (someone to do something).
- 1762, David Hume, The History of England:
- It imports us to get all the aid and assistance we can.
- (transitive) To be important or crucial to (that something happen).
- 1819, Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Cenci:
- It much imports your house That all should be made clear.
- (transitive) To mean, signify.
- 1594–1597, Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, →OCLC, (please specify the page):
- Every petition […] doth […] always import a multitude of speakers together.
- (transitive, archaic) To express, to imply.
Translations
References
- John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “import”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
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Czech
Pronunciation
Noun
import m inan
Declension
Declension of import (hard masculine inanimate)
Related terms
Further reading
- “import”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
- “import”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
- “import”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025
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Dutch
Etymology
Back-formed from importeren or borrowed from English import.
Pronunciation
Noun
import m (plural importen, diminutive importje n)
- geographical import
- (Netherlands, collective) a person or people who is/are not native to a city, village or region, but moved there from outside
Synonyms
- (import): invoer
Antonyms
Derived terms
- importbruid
- importgoederen
- importhandel
Related terms
- importeur
Descendants
- → Indonesian: impor
- → West Frisian: ymport
French
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
import m (plural imports)
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “import”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
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Hungarian
Malay
Norwegian Bokmål
Norwegian Nynorsk
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Romanian
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