Import

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: im=port

CIDE DICTIONARY

Import, v. t. [L. importare to bring in, to occasion, to cause; pref. im- in + portare to bear. Sense 3 comes through F. importer, from the Latin. See Port demeanor.].

•  To bring in from abroad; to introduce from without; especially, to bring (wares or merchandise) into a place or country from a foreign country, in the transactions of commerce; -- opposed to export. We import teas from China, coffee from Brazil, etc.  [1913 Webster]
•  To carry or include, as meaning or intention; to imply; to signify.  [1913 Webster]

  "Every petition . . . doth . . . always import a multitude of speakers together."  [1913 Webster]
•  To be of importance or consequence to; to have a bearing on; to concern.  [1913 Webster]

  "I have a motion much imports your good."  [1913 Webster]

  "If I endure it, what imports it you?"

Syn. -- To denote; mean; signify; imply; indicate; betoken; interest; concern.

Import, v. i. 

 To signify; to purport; to be of moment.  Bacon.  [1913 Webster]

Import, n. 

•  Merchandise imported, or brought into a country from without its boundaries; -- generally in the plural, opposed to exports.  [1913 Webster]

  "I take the imports from, and not the exports to, these conquests, as the measure of these advantages which we derived from them."  [1913 Webster]
•  That which a word, phrase, or document contains as its signification or intention or interpretation of a word, action, event, and the like.  [1913 Webster]
•  Importance; weight; consequence.  [1913 Webster]

  "Most serious design, and the great import."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Import, v. & n.
--v.tr.
1 bring in (esp. foreign goods or services) to a country.
2 (often foll. by that + clause) a imply, indicate, signify. b express, make known.
--n.
1 the process of importing.
2 a an imported article or service. b (in pl.) an amount imported (imports exceeded {pound}50m.).
3 what is implied; meaning.
4 importance.

Derivative

importable adj. importation n. importer n. (all in sense 1 of v.).

Etymology

ME f. L importare bring in, in med.L = imply, be of consequence (as IN-(2), portare carry)

THESAURUS

Import

accent, acceptation, access, add up to, admission, affective meaning, allegorize, allegory, allude to, allusion, amount to something, arcane meaning, argue, assign, assume, assumption, be construed as, be featured, be prominent, be somebody, be something, bearing, bespeak, betoken, breathe, bring in, bring to mind, carry over, carry weight, coloration, coloring, communicate, communication, concern, concernment, conduction, connotation, connote, consequence, consequentiality, consideration, consign, construction, contagion, convection, convey, count, cut ice, cut some ice, deliver, delivery, denotation, denote, deport, deportation, design, diapedesis, diffuse, diffusion, disseminate, dissemination, drift, effect, emphasis, entail, entrance, entree, entry, essence, excellence, expel, export, exportation, express, expulsion, extension, extradite, extradition, force, get top billing, gist, grammatical meaning, hand forward, hand on, hand over, high order, high rank, hint, idea, impact, impart, implicate, implication, implied meaning, imply, importance, importation, importing, income, incoming, indicate, infer, inference, infiltration, ingoing, ingress, ingression, innuendo, input, insertion, insinuate, insinuation, intake, intend, intendment, intension, intent, intention, interchange, interest, interpenetration, interpretation, intimate, intimation, introduce, introduction, introgression, intrusion, involve, ironic suggestion, leakage, lexical meaning, literal meaning, magnitude, make over, mark, materiality, matter, mean, mean to say, meaning, merit, message, metaphorical sense, metastasis, metastasize, metathesis, metathesize, metempsychosis, migration, moment, momentousness, mutual transfer, note, nuance, object, objective, occult meaning, osmosis, overtone, paramountcy, pass, pass on, pass over, pass the buck, passage, passing over, penetration, percolation, perfuse, perfusion, pertinence, pith, point, point indirectly to, practical consequence, precedence, preeminence, presume, presumption, presuppose, presupposition, primacy, priority, purport, purpose, range of meaning, real meaning, reception, refer to, reference, referent, relation, relay, relevance, scope, seepage, self-importance, semantic cluster, semantic field, sense, significance, significancy, signification, significatum, signifie, signify, span of meaning, spell, spirit, spread, spreading, stand for, stand out, star, stress, structural meaning, subsense, subsidiary sense, substance, suggest, suggestion, sum, sum and substance, superiority, suppose, supposition, supremacy, switch, symbolic meaning, symbolism, symbolize, take for granted, tell, tenor, thrust, tinge, totality of associations, touch, transduction, transfer, transfer of property, transfer property, transference, transferred meaning, transfuse, transfusion, transit, transition, translate, translation, translocate, translocation, transmigration, transmigration of souls, transmission, transmit, transmittal, transmittance, transplace, transplacement, transplant, transplantation, transposal, transpose, transposition, travel, turn over, unadorned meaning, undercurrent, undermeaning, understanding, undertone, value, weigh, weight, weightiness, worth

ROGET THESAURUS

Import

Importance

N importance, consequence, moment, prominence, consideration, mark, materialness, import, significance, concern, emphasis, interest, greatness, superiority, notability, weight, value, usefulness, gravity, seriousness, solemnity, no joke, no laughing matter, pressure, urgency, stress, matter of life and death, memorabilia, notabilia, great doings, red-letter day, great thing, great point, main chance, the be all and the end all, cardinal point, substance, gist, sum and substance, gravamen, head and front, important part, principal part, prominent part, essential part, half the battle, sine qua non, breath of one's nostrils, cream, salt, core, kernel, heart, nucleus, keynote, keystone, corner stone, trump card, salient points, top sawyer, first fiddle, prima donna, chief, triton among the minnows, 'it', important, of importance, momentous, material, to the point, not to be overlooked, not to be despised, not to be sneezed at, egregious, weighty, of note, notable, prominent, salient, signal, memorable, remarkable, unforgettable, worthy of remark, worthy of notice, never to be forgotten, stirring, eventful, grave, serious, earnest, noble, grand, solemn, impressive, commanding, imposing, urgent, pressing, critical, instant, paramount, essential, vital, all-absorbing, radical, cardinal, chief, main, prime, primary, principal, leading, capital, foremost, overruling, of vital importance in the front rank, first-rate, superior, considerable, marked, rare, significant, telling, trenchant, emphatic, pregnant, tanti, materially, in the main, above all, kat' exochin, par excellence, to crown all, to beat all, expende Hannibalem!.

VB be important, be somebody, be something, import, signify, matter, boot, be an object, carry weight, make a figure, be in the ascendant, come to the front, lead the way, take the lead, play first fiddle, throw all else into the shade, lie at the root of, deserve notice, merit notice, be worthy of notice, be worthy of regard, be worthy of consideration, attach importance to, ascribe importance to, give importance to, value, care for, set store upon, set store by, mark, mark with a white stone, underline, write in italics, put in italics, print in italics, print in capitals, print in large letters, put in large type, put in letters, of gold, accentuate, emphasize, lay stress on, make a fuss about, make a fuss over, make a stir about, make a piece of work about, make much ado about, make much ado of, make much of.

Interposition

VB lie between, come between, get between, intervene, slide in, interpenetrate, permeate, put between, introduce, import, throw in, wedge in, edge in, jam in, worm in, foist in, run in, plow in, work in, interpose, interject, intercalate, interpolate, interline, interleave, intersperse, interweave, interlard, interdigitate, sandwich in, fit in, squeeze in, let in, dovetail, splice, mortise, insinuate, smuggle, infiltrate, ingrain, interfere, put in an oar, thrust one's nose in, intrude, obtrude, have a finger in the pie, introduce the thin end of the wedge, thrust in.

Transference

VB transfer, transmit, transport, transplace, transplant, translocate, convey, carry, bear, fetch and carry, carry over, ferry over, hand pass, forward, shift, conduct, convoy, bring, fetch, reach, tote, port, import, export, send, delegate, consign, relegate, turn over to, deliver, ship, embark, waft, shunt, transpose, displace, throw, drag, mail, post, shovel, ladle, decant, draft off, transfuse, infuse, siphon.

Ingress

N ingress, entrance, entry, introgression, influx, intrusion, inroad, incursion, invasion, irruption, ingression, penetration, interpenetration, illapse, import, infiltration, immigration, admission, insinuation, insertion, inlet, way in, mouth, door, barway, path, conduit, immigrant, incoming.

Reception

VB give entrance to, give admittance to, give the entree, introduce, intromit, usher, admit, receive, import, bring in, open the door to, throw in, ingest, absorb, imbibe, inhale, breathe in, let in, take in, suck in, draw in, readmit, resorb, reabsorb, snuff up, swallow, ingurgitate, engulf, engorge, gulp, eat, drink.

Insertion

VB insert, introduce, intromit, put into, run into, import, inject, interject, infuse, instill, inoculate, impregnate, imbue, imbrue, graft, ingraft, bud, plant, implant, dovetail, obtrude, thrust in, stick in, ram in, stuff in, tuck in, press, in, drive in, pop in, whip in, drop in, put in, impact, empierce, imbed, immerse, immerge, merge, bathe, soak, dip, plunge, bury, insert itself, lodge itself, plunge in medias res.

Meaning

N meaning, signification, significance, sense, expression, import, purport, force, drift, tenor, spirit, bearing, coloring, scope, substance, gist, essence, marrow, spirit, matter, subject, subject matter, argument, text, sum and substance, general meaning, broad meaning, substantial meaning, colloquial meaning, literal meaning, plain meaning, simple meaning, natural meaning, unstrained meaning, true meaning, honest meaning, &c 543 prima facie meaning, letter of the law, literally, after acceptation, synonym, implication, allusion, suggestion, figure of speech, acceptation, meaning, expressive, suggestive, allusive, significant, significative, significatory, pithy, full of meaning, pregnant with meaning, declaratory, intelligible, literal, synonymous, tantamount, implied, explicit, to that effect, that is to say.

VB mean, signify, express, import, purport, convey, imply, breathe, indicate, bespeak, bear a sense, tell of, speak of, touch on, point to, allude to, drive at, involve, declare, understand by.