located, happening, or on the outside surface of something
The doctor cleaned the external wound on the boy’s knee.
We repainted the external walls of our house a cheerful yellow.
✦ From Latin externus “outside, foreign,” from exter “outward” + -nus.
coming from or relating to outside a particular place, organization, or system
The company hired an external consultant to review its strategy.
All external emails are scanned for viruses before reaching employees.
✦ Developed from the idea of something ‘outside’ an entity, first recorded in organizational contexts in the 1800s.
the outside part or appearance of something rather than its inner nature
You should not judge a person by their external alone.
The building’s plain external hides a beautifully decorated interior.
✦ Use as a noun dates from the early 1600s, originally meaning simply “the outside.”
