A multinational company or organization operates in multiple countries at once. McDonald's is multinational because it has restaurants across North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond. Toyota builds cars in Japan, the United States, Mexico, and many other nations. These companies don't just sell their products internationally: they actually have offices, factories, and employees in different countries.

The word combines “multi” (meaning many) with “national” (relating to nations). A local bakery serves one neighborhood. A national company like Target operates across the United States. But a multinational corporation spans the globe, adapting to different languages, currencies, and customs in each place it does business.

You'll also hear multinational describe things involving several countries working together. A multinational peacekeeping force might include soldiers from ten different nations. A multinational research team could have scientists from Canada, Germany, and South Korea collaborating on the same project.

Running a multinational organization creates interesting challenges. A company must follow different laws in each country, communicate across time zones, and understand what customers want in Tokyo versus what they want in Toronto. It's like playing chess on multiple boards at the same time.