# multinational

/ˌməɫˌtaɪˈnæʃənəɫ/ (US) · /mˌʌltɪnˈæʃənəl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/multinational
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. business/corporate

adjective · CEFR B2

operating or having offices and factories in many different countries.

For teachers: operating, or having subsidiary branches and assets, in multiple sovereign states. Often used to describe large corporations.

- She works for a large multinational bank with offices in London, Tokyo, and New York.
- The multinational corporation faced significant regulatory hurdles while attempting to harmonise its employment contracts across three different continents.

### 2. political/social

adjective · CEFR C1 · Academic · Formal

involving or including people from several different nations.

For teachers: relating to, or involving, more than two nations or ethnic groups within a single political framework.

- The peacekeeping force was a multinational effort to bring peace to the region.
- The summit aimed to establish a multinational agreement on carbon emissions, requiring cooperation between both developed and developing economies.

### 3. a large company

noun · CEFR B2

a very large company that does business in many countries.

For teachers: a large commercial organisation with operations and subsidiaries in multiple countries. Often used in economic critiques or business reporting.

- Many multinationals are moving their headquarters to cities with lower taxes.
- Economists argue that large multinationals often wield more political influence than the smaller nations in which they operate.

## Examples

- The multinational company has offices in ten countries.
- The multinational corporation moved its headquarters to London last year.
- The multinational conglomerate navigated complex tax laws by shifting profits between its subsidiaries in low-tax jurisdictions.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.