foreign aid

noun

Synonyms of foreign aidnext
: assistance (such as economic aid) provided by one nation to another

Examples of foreign aid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Before 2021, foreign aid financed roughly three-quarters of public expenditures. — Kara Fox, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026 The aid workers who once regularly visited her village to help pregnant women had stopped coming, after foreign aid cuts by the United States shuttered a program aimed at saving mothers’ and babies’ lives. — ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026 For decades, these countries have subsisted on a lean diet of foreign aid from major donor governments and the United Nations, the World Bank, and other multilateral institutions. — Eghosa E. Osaghae, Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2026 Still, the billions of taxpayer dollars Congress has allocated for foreign aid programs must be spent; lawmakers have insisted the government continue to fund humanitarian aid, global health and pro-democracy causes around the world. — Anna Maria Barry-Jester, ProPublica, 7 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for foreign aid

Word History

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of foreign aid was in 1548

Rhymes for foreign aid

See All Rhymes for foreign aid

Browse Nearby Words

foreign affairs
foreign aid
foreign attachment
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Foreign aid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foreign%20aid. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on foreign aid

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for foreign aid

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about foreign aid

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