multilateral

American  

[muhl-ti-lat-er-uhl] / ˌmʌl tɪˈlæt ər əl /

adjective

1. having several or many sides; many-sided.

2. participated in by more than two nations, parties, etc.; multipartite.

   multilateral agreements on disarmament.

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multilateral British  

/ ˌmʌltɪˈlætərəl, -ˈlætrəl /

adjective

1. of or involving more than two nations or parties

   a multilateral pact

2. having many sides

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Other Word Forms

• multilateralism noun
• multilateralist adjective
• multilaterally adverb

Etymology

Origin of multilateral

First recorded in 1690–1700; multi- + lateral

Example Sentences

Lula addressed the AI Impact summit in Delhi on Thursday, calling for a multilateral and inclusive global governance framework for artificial intelligence.

From Barron's

The next month, those emails show, Andrew sent Epstein a confidential brief from a U.K.-led multilateral group in Afghanistan, the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Helmand Province, about international investment opportunities in Afghanistan.

From The Wall Street Journal

Beijing says it wants to support the multilateral trading system, "because it has benefited quite a bit from it", WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told the Munich Security Conference.

From Barron's

This strategy, he argues, broadly rested on three pillars: a belief in the benefit of multilateral institutions, economic integration and a belief that democracy and human rights are not just values, but strategic assets.

From BBC

“Iran is seeking to shift the venue, because it viewed the multilateral, open format in Türkiye as a high-risk, low-reward proposition,” said Oral Toga, a researcher at the Center for Iranian Studies in Turkey.

From The Wall Street Journal