multilateral
adjective
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Since lateral means "side", multilateral means basically "many-sided". The philosophy of multilateralism claims that the best solutions generally result when as many of the world's nations as possible are involved in discussions, and multilateralists often favor strengthening the United Nations. Today multilateralism can be seen at work in, for example, the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, and the International Criminal Court. But the U.S. doesn't always join the major multilateral organizations, instead often behaving as if a unilateral approach—that is, going it alone—was best for the interests of a powerful nation.
Examples of multilateral in a Sentence
Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Aside from insurance, to reduce climate vulnerability, governments can also build out physical defenses like seawalls and flood barriers, while deepening partnerships with multilateral organizations like the Asian Development Bank and World Bank.
—Angelica Ang, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2026
National regulations and multilateral agreements can help block mirror life, a biological threat, and to lessen the risk of biological threats being made with AI, the Bulletin said.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Through both multilateral agreements and national regulations, the international community can take all feasible steps to prevent the creation of mirror life and cooperate on meaningful measures to reduce the prospect that AI be used to create biological threats.
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 27 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Multilateral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/multilateral. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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multilateral
adjective
