multinational

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˌmʌltɪˈnæʃənəl/ 🇺🇸 /ˌmʌˌltaɪˈnæʃənəl/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Involving or operating in several nations or countries; having branches, subsidiaries, or operations in multiple countries.; Comprising or representing multiple nations or nationalities; involving several countries jointly.
  2. noun
    A large company or corporation that operates in several countries, typically with its headquarters in one country and subsidiaries or branches in others.
  3. adjective
    Relating to or characteristic of a multinational corporation or enterprise.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: multinationals

Collocations

multinational corporationmultinational companymultinational enterprisemultinational forcemultinational teammultinational conglomerate

Derivatives

multinationallymultinationalismmultinationality

Synonyms

internationalglobaltransnationalworldwidecosmopolitan

Antonyms

domesticnationallocal

Commonly confused

international
EN: 'International' refers broadly to relations between nations; 'multinational' specifically describes an entity operating in or involving multiple countries simultaneously.
transnational
EN: 'Transnational' emphasizes crossing national boundaries (often used in academic/legal contexts); 'multinational' emphasizes presence in many countries (common in business contexts).

Spelling tips

EN: The prefix 'multi-' is written as one word without a hyphen: 'multinational', not 'multi-national'.

💬 Examples

  1. The multinational corporation has offices in over forty countries around the world.

  2. A multinational peacekeeping force was deployed to the conflict zone.

  3. Many multinationals have been criticized for exploiting cheap labor in developing countries.

  4. The firm adopted a multinational strategy to expand its market share in Asia and Europe.