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
Willem Marx, NPR, 22 Jan. 2026
Rwanda, for its part, is already engaging with international partners and structuring mixed financing approaches that combine public, private, and multilateral sources.
—Ken Silverstein, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
The multilateral institutions on which the middle powers have relied — the WTO, the UN, the COP — the architecture, the very architecture of collective problem solving are under threat.
—Haley Ott, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026
The inaugural World Laureates Summit will be held alongside the World Government Summit, bringing 200 of the world’s top researchers into the orbit of presidents, prime ministers, multilateral leaders, and business executives.
—Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 16 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Multilateral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/multilateral. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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multilateral
adjective
