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

Etymology

Origin of multinational

First recorded in 1925–30; multi- + national

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

Kopple's latest film centres on New York City union efforts to pressure multinational giants from UPS to Amazon for better wages and benefits for their employees and part-time workers.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

To make the intervention work across many different settings, multinational working groups included representatives from every participating country.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

“The proposed merger of Paramount and Warner Brothers Discovery is no mere combination of two huge multinational companies,” the group wrote in the letter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

But the streets are clean, multinational companies are here in droves and the island country frequently ranks at the top of livability indexes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

He brought together representatives from multinational drug companies, independent middlemen and distributors, nonprofit organizations—almost anyone who might have an impact on drug pricing.

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

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 tax applies to tech multinationals like Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon, specifically targeting firms with global digital revenues exceeding £500 million and UK revenues over £25 million.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

That pressured shares of multinationals and smaller, domestic companies alike.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 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

Related Words

• continental
• global
• multicultural