multilateralism

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"multilateralism" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“multilateralism” is uncommon English (frequency #92,904 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#92,904
frequency rank, English
36,575
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Unbiased trade between nations, in contrast to bilateralism.

Key facts for multilateralism
PropertyValue
Headwordmultilateralism
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters15
Frequency rank#92,904
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “multilateralism” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). multilateralism lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

multilateralism is uncommon English at frequency #92,904 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

multilateralism doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From multilateral + -ism. The correct English form is multilateralism, spelled M-U-L-T-I-L-A-T-E-R-A-L-I-S-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Unbiased trade between nations, in contrast to bilateralism.
  2. 2
    A system by which nations consult others in matters of foreign policy, by way of organisations such as the United Nations.

Etymology

From multilateral + -ism.

This word in other languages

multilatéralisme(Français)Multilateralismus(Deutsch)multilateralismo(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "multilateralism"?
"multilateralism" is spelled M-U-L-T-I-L-A-T-E-R-A-L-I-S-M.
What does "multilateralism" mean?
As a noun, "multilateralism" means: Unbiased trade between nations, in contrast to bilateralism.
What is the origin of the word "multilateralism"?
From multilateral + -ism. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “multilateralism”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is M-U-L-T-I-L-A-T-E-R-A-L-I-S-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list