multinational

American  

[muhl-tee-nash-uh-nl, muhl-tahy-] / ˌmʌl tiˈnæʃ ə nl, ˌmʌl taɪ- /

noun

• multinationals
  plural

1. a large corporation with operations and subsidiaries in several countries.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or involving several nations.

2. noting or pertaining to multinationals.

multinational British  

/ ˌmʌltɪˈnæʃənəl /

adjective

1. (of a large business company) operating in several countries

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noun

1. such a company

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• multinationalism
  noun
• multinationally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• multinationals
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of multinational

First recorded in 1925–30; multi- + national

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Explanation

When something is described as multinational, it involves more than two countries. A multinational corporation buys and sells in several countries, and it may also have offices in these countries. A multinational conflict is a war that involves the governments of three or more countries. Multinational peacekeepers might be from an organization like the United Nations (which could also be described as a multinational organization), working in many countries toward a peaceful agreement between them. The adjective multinational uses the prefix multi-, or "many," adding it to national, from the Latin nationem, "birth, kind, or tribe."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

multinational multinationals

Instead of alienating our allies, we should collaborate with them to ensure that multinational corporations aren’t playing us off each other.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Citi’s institutional clients, including large multinational corporations, will be able to accept stablecoin payments from their customers at checkout through Citi’s merchant-processing services.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

"Preparedness planning should extend beyond diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics to include operational readiness for multinational outbreak response," she said.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

France and Italy have said they want to set up a multinational coalition to succeed UNIFIL.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

The Dutch group’s strategy was to ignore the giant multinational drug companies, the ones that rely on research and brand names and patent protection.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

The transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, adds to a string of deals between multinationals and innovation biotech firms in China and Hong Kong.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

GCCs are offshore innovation hubs of multinationals that perform business critical functions such as R&D, corporate strategy and artificial intelligence development among a plethora of other key jobs.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Third-quarter GDP growth will likely accelerate to at least a 5% annual pace due to continued onshoring efforts from U.S. multinationals, booming U.S. energy exports, strong retail sales growth and AI productivity gains.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

The firm, which has offices in India and the United States, lists Fortune 500 multinationals as clients.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

These multinationals went global for markets and labor, spearheaded first by the expansion of the Dutch and English joint-stock companies and the Industrial Revolution.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

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Related Words

• continental
• global
• multicultural

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