ALIEN | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of alien in English alienadjective uk /ˈeɪ.li.ən/ us /ˈeɪ.li.ən/ Add to word list Add to word list [ before noun ] relating to creatures from another planet: an alien spacecraft Synonym extraterrestrial strange and not familiar: alien to When I first went to New York, it all felt very alien to me. coming from a different country, race, or group: an alien culture Synonym foreign Strange, suspicious and unnatural things and people

• anomaly
• anti-alien
• Bermuda Triangle
• corn circle
• crop circle
• eccentric
• flake
• kook
• kryptonite
• loiterer
• Martian
• masochist
• pervert
• screwball
• sociopath
• sociopathic
• space cadet
• spaceman
• taniwha
• Tardis

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Unknown and unfamiliar aliennoun [ C ] uk /ˈeɪ.li.ən/ us /ˈeɪ.li.ən/ a creature from a different planet: He believes that aliens visit Earth in UFOs. In this story, the spaceship comes into contact with a society of friendly aliens. law   specialized someone who lives in a country of which they are not a legal citizen: When war broke out, the government rounded up thousands of aliens and put them in temporary camps. Strange, suspicious and unnatural things and people

• anomaly
• anti-alien
• Bermuda Triangle
• corn circle
• crop circle
• eccentric
• flake
• kook
• kryptonite
• loiterer
• Martian
• masochist
• pervert
• screwball
• sociopath
• sociopathic
• space cadet
• spaceman
• taniwha
• Tardis

See more results » (Definition of alien from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

alien | American Dictionary

aliennoun [ C ] us /ˈeɪ·li·ən/ Add to word list Add to word list a person who lives in a country but is not a citizen (= member of a country with specific rights) An alien is also a creature from a planet other than Earth. alienadjective us /ˈeɪ·li·ən/ coming from a different country, race, or group; foreign: alien customs (Definition of alien from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

alien | Business English

aliennoun [ C ]   LAW   US uk /ˈeɪliən/ us Add to word list Add to word list a person who lives in a foreign country of which they are not a citizen: illegal aliens See also resident alien

alien

adjective [ before noun ] They are recommending that long-term alien workers should be granted citizenship. (Definition of alien from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) What is the pronunciation of alien?

Translations of alien

in Chinese (Traditional) 外星人（或生物）的, 怪異的, 截然不同的… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 外星人（或生物）的, 怪异的, 截然不同的… See more in Spanish extraterrestre, ajeno, extranjero… See more in Portuguese alienígena, extraterrestre, estranho… See more in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Czech in Danish in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Korean in Ukrainian in Italian 宇宙人, 異星人, （在留）外国人… See more acayip, alışık olunmayan, yaratık gibi… See more extraterrestre [masculine-feminine], étranger/-ère [masculine-feminine], étranger/-ère… See more extraterrestre, immigrant, aliè… See more buitenlands, buitenaards, buitenlander… See more cizí, mimozemský, cizinec… See more fremmed, udenlandsk, rumvæsen… See more asing, alien, orang asing… See more ต่างด้าว, ต่างดาว, คนต่างด้าว… See more thuộc nước ngoài, người ngoài hành tinh, ngoại kiều… See more obcy, istota pozaziemska, kosmit-a/ka… See more utländsk, främmande, främmande varelser… See more asing, makhluk asing, warga asing… See more fremd, außerirdisch, der Ausländer / die Ausländerin… See more romvesen [neuter], utlending [masculine], fremmed [masculine]… See more 에일리언, 외계인, 외국인 체류자… See more чужий, іноземний, інопланетний… See more alieno, -a, cittadino straniero… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

aliasing alibi Alice band Alice-in-Wonderland alien alienable alienate alienated alienating {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of alien

• anti-alien
• illegal alien
• resident alien
• illegal alien, at illegal immigrant
• illegal immigrant/alien

See all meanings

Word of the Day

pollen

UK /ˈpɒl.ən/ US /ˈpɑː.lən/

a powder, produced by the male part of a flower, that causes the female part of the same type of flower to produce seeds. It is carried by insects or the wind.

About this

Blog

Throwing a punch or throwing your head back: using the verb ‘throw’

March 04, 2026 Read More

New Words

fail watching March 09, 2026 More new words has been added to list To top AI Assistant Contents EnglishAmericanBusinessTranslations AI Assistant {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries
  • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
  • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
  • English–Danish Danish–English
  • English–Dutch Dutch–English
  • English–French French–English
  • English–German German–English
  • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
  • English–Italian Italian–English
  • English–Japanese Japanese–English
  • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
  • English–Polish Polish–English
  • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
  • English–Spanish Spanish–English
  • English–Swedish Swedish–English
  Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists

Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents

• English   AdjectiveNoun
• American   NounAdjective
• Business   
  • Noun 
    • alien
  • Adjective 
    • alien

• Translations
• Grammar
• All translations

My word lists

To add alien to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add alien to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{name}} More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}