Commentary: IMPORT[+entity][+goods][+foreign] commodities or people brought from a foreign country
NOTE: can occur naturally in the singular or plural,
NOTE: a countable set of things.
Examples:
In recent years, China has significantly increased its imports from overseas.
The nations have imposed import quotas on each other.
John drives an import but Mary drives an American car.
The lead role was played by an import from Sweden. (metaphoric extension)
Fruit imports were left on the docks unloaded.
Congress is planning to ban beef imports for six months.
Mappings:
WordNet 2.0 Sense Numbers: 1 2
Commentary: IMPORT[+event][+activity][+buy][+goods][+foreign] the act of importing, rather than the goods themselves
NOTE: usually in the singular, somewhat marked in the plural (or ambiguous with sense 1)
NOTE: the import of X (always activity) imports of X (usually entity)
NOTE: VERB (the import(s))/(import(s)) of X - the meaning of the verb often determines whether action or entity suspension of imports of beef (event) versus consumption of imports of beef (entity) (suspend an activity) (consume an entity)
Examples:
The import of illegal substances is called smuggling.
Congress passed a ban on the import of beef. (the import of X -> syntax for activity)
Congress is planning to ban imports of beef for six months. (ambiguous) ('ban' can refer to an activity or entity)
The strong Euro has discouraged imports of wine from France and other wine-growing regions in Europe.
Mappings:
WordNet 2.0 Sense Numbers: -
Commentary: IMPORT[+quality][+impact][+large] having important effects or influence
Examples:
Decisions of great import are made by the president himself.
Virtue is of more import than security.
Those screaming mobs are of no import in the larger context of history.
Mappings:
WordNet 2.0 Sense Numbers: 5
Commentary: IMPORT[+quality][+interpretation] the meaning of a message, either intended or inferred
Examples:
What is the import of this sentence?
In poetry the import of each word usually matters much more than in textbook prose.
The import of his announcement was ambiguous.
Mappings:
WordNet 2.0 Sense Numbers: 3 4