multilingual

adjective

mul·​ti·​lin·​gual ˌməl-tē-ˈliŋ-gwəl 

-ˈliŋ-gyə-wəl, 

-ˌtī-

1

: of, having, or expressed in several languages

a multilingual sign

multilingual dictionaries

2

: using or able to use several languages especially with equal fluency

multilingual translators

multilingualism

ˌməl-tē-ˈliŋ-gwə-ˌli-zəm 

-gyə-wə-, 

-ˌtī-

noun

multilingually

ˌməl-tē-ˈliŋ-gwə-lē 

-gyə-wə-lē, 

-ˌtī-

adverb

Did you know?

The roots of multilingual come from Latin. If you happen to prefer Greek, use the synonym polyglot, in which poly- has the same meaning as multi-, and -glot means the same thing as -lingual. The best way to become multilingual is probably to be born in a bilingual (two-language) household; learning those first two seems to give the mind the kind of exercise that makes later language-learning easy.

Examples of multilingual in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Along Fullerton Avenue in Belmont Cragin, multilingual signs hanging in storefront windows reflect the diversity of a community with roots stretching across Latin America. — Allison Kiehl, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026

Bringing Live Translation to a much lower price point (previously on AirPods Pros) will help a lot of regular people with multilingual needs. — Eric Zeman, PC Magazine, 10 Sep. 2026

Pre-production is planned for Q1 2027, with multilingual filming in Mexico City, Barcelona, Paris and Moscow. — Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026

Different foundation models excel at different tasks-reasoning, coding, summarization, multilingual communication or image generation. — Prajkta Waditwar, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 1