export

export — verb

1. to produce or obtain products in your own country and sell them to buyers in ano

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB1
Definition

to produce or obtain products in your own country and sell them to buyers in another country

Example

Christopher's family business exports coffee beans to Japan and South Korea.

export + noun phrase + to + place for destination

Naoko exported over a thousand containers of furniture to Europe last year.

Common collocations
  • export goods
  • export products
  • export commodities
  • export oil
  • export to [country]
  • export from [country]
Synonyms
  • sell abroad

    less formal; emphasises the transaction rather than cross-border movement

  • ship overseas

    focuses on the transportation stage; more concrete

  • trade internationally

    suggests a two-way exchange rather than one-directional flow

Antonyms
  • import

    the opposite direction — bringing goods into your country from abroad

Grammar Patterns

export + noun phrase + to + place

export + from + place

intransitive: [country/company] + exports + to + place

Usage Note

The object is usually a type of product, commodity, or service. The destination follows the preposition 'to'. The intransitive form emphasises the activity rather than the specific goods: 'The country exports to over 30 nations.'

Common Mistakes

We export to our products to China.
We export our products to China.
No 'to' between the verb and the direct object.

2. to bring customs, ideas, or ways of doing things from your own country into use

2.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to bring customs, ideas, or ways of doing things from your own country into use and acceptance in other parts of the world

Example

Tamar's restaurant chain exported the street-food concept to cities across Europe.

export + abstract concept + to + region

Shirin observes that Japanese anime has exported its storytelling style to animators worldwide.

Common collocations
  • export culture
  • export ideas
  • export practices
  • export a model
  • export a style
Synonyms
  • spread

    broader; does not imply a single country of origin

  • introduce

    softer; focuses on first exposure rather than ongoing adoption

  • popularise

    emphasises widespread acceptance

Grammar Patterns

export + noun phrase + to + place

Usage Note

Common with nouns like 'model', 'practice', 'style', 'concept', or 'culture'. The object is almost always abstract rather than physical.

3. to transfer digital information from one software application or device into a f

3.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to transfer digital information from one software application or device into a file format that another system can read and use

Example

Sirin exported the spreadsheet from Excel and saved it as a PDF file.

export + from + [software] + as + [format]

Zuri exported her photos from her phone to an external hard drive.

Common collocations
  • export data
  • export a file
  • export a document
  • export as [format]
  • export from [app]
  • export to [device]
Synonyms
  • transfer

    more general; does not imply a format change

  • convert

    focuses on changing file format rather than moving data

  • back up

    means copying for safety, not necessarily for use in another system

Antonyms
  • import

    the reverse action — bringing data into a system from an external source

Grammar Patterns

export + noun phrase + from + source + to + destination/format

export + noun phrase + as + file format

Usage Note

The opposite action is 'import', which brings data into a system. Common file formats mentioned with 'export as' include CSV, PDF, XML, and JSON.

Common Mistakes

I exported the file in a PDF.
I exported the file as a PDF.
The format follows 'as', not 'in'.

export — noun

export — adjective

Word family

  • exporter
    nounB2
  • exportation
    nounC1
  • exportable
    adjectiveC1
  • re-export
    verbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

'Export' is the formal, standard business term for sending goods to another country for sale. 'Sell abroad' is a more general phrase that covers any cross-border transaction, including digital services that never cross a physical border — unlike 'export', which traditionally implies physical goods passing through customs. 'Ship overseas' emphasises the physical transportation stage and sounds more concrete; a logistics company ships overseas, but a software firm exports a service. 'Trade internationally' suggests a two-way exchange rather than a one-directional flow: countries trade with each other, but they export to each other. For example: 'Brazil exports coffee to over 40 countries'; 'The company sells abroad through its online platform'; 'The cargo was shipped overseas by sea freight.'

export ↗sell abroadship overseastrade internationally

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • the export of [something]
  • export to [country]
  • export from [country]
  • for export

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

'Export' comes from the Latin prefix 'ex-' meaning 'out' and 'portare' meaning 'to carry' — so literally 'to carry out'. The word entered English through Middle French in the 15th century, first used in trade contexts to mean 'carry goods out of a country for sale abroad'.