multilingual

[ muhl-tee-ling-gwuh l, muhl-tahy- or, Canadian, -ling-gyoo-uh l ]

/ ˌmʌl tiˈlɪŋ gwəl, ˌmʌl taɪ- or, Canadian, -ˈlɪŋ gyu əl /

adjective

using or able to speak several or many languages with some facility.

spoken or written in several or many languages: a multilingual broadcast.

dealing with or involving several or many languages: a multilingual dictionary of business terms.

noun

a multilingual person.

Nearby words

multilayer, multilayered, multilevel, multiline insurer, multilinear form, multilingual, multilingualism, multilith, multilobar, multilobular, multilocal

Origin of multilingual

First recorded in 1830–40; multi- + lingual

Related forms

mul·ti·lin·gual·ly, adverbmul·ti·lin·gual·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for multilingual

Rent regulation promises true pluralism, an ideal in which the multilingual Needelman has a deeply personal stake.
The Celebrity You've Never Heard Of|Moral Courage|February 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Almost all the applicants were multilingual and searching for their first post-university jobs.
Edward Snowden Inspires European Youths to Train as Spies|Barbie Latza Nadeau|July 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It has what may be the largest concentration of multilingual people in the country.
Utah Up, Chicago Down: Why Mitt Romney Should Embrace His Mormonism|Joel Kotkin|August 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
They were multilingual, fluent in Arabic, Urdu, Baluch, and English, and moved easily through a globalizing world.
9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Finally on Trial at Guantanamo|Terry McDermott|May 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Moskvin was described as multilingual (he spoke 13 languages) and a historian, a professional traveler, journalist, and magician.
Russian Historian Anatoly Moskvin Collected Dead Girls at Home|Anna Nemtsova|November 28, 2011|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for multilingual

multilingual

/ (ˌmʌltɪˈlɪŋɡwəl) /

adjective

able to speak more than two languages

written or expressed in more than two languagesCompare bilingual, monolingual

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012