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

According to over a dozen recent job postings first reported by Bloomberg, the company is recruiting engineers to build a multilingual AI search engine that is capable of handling text, images, and audio. —Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2026

Adios, multilingual driver’s license tests. —Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 30 Jan. 2026

This nonprofit organization is dedicated to fostering the growth, development and distribution of free, multilingual content via free knowledge platforms like Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. —Laura Begley Bloom, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026

Additionally, the company plans to create an AI version of Lame that will include his face, voice and behaviors to create multilingual social media content, as well as increase his output and posting capabilities across multiple time zones. —Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 27 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 1