multinational
Americannoun
adjective
-
of, relating to, or involving several nations.
-
noting or pertaining to multinationals.
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of multinational
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."
Vocabulary lists containing multinational
Political Geography - Middle School
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Political Geography - High School
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Economics
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In March 2025 the multinational divested from the business, selling its shares - to Renaissance Africa Energy, a consortium of Nigerian indigenous oil companies.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
A weak buck is generally viewed as bullish for foreign stocks, while a stronger dollar could weigh on the earnings of U.S.-based multinational companies that earn much of their money abroad.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026
Emotions ran deep among the multinational assemblage of emergency workers who witnessed one man’s improbable deliverance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
He said it doesn't bother him that a multinational company is behind it rather than a local independent business owner.
From BBC ● Jun. 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
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
That pressured shares of multinationals and smaller, domestic companies alike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Companies with a domestic focus should do better than multinationals exposed to countries in Europe and Asia that were hit much harder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
While not exactly treasure, multinationals receive licensing revenues from their subsidiaries in other countries as part of tax optimisation strategies.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
