Meaning & use
multidisciplinary
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Involving or combining several different academic subjects or areas of expertise.
Grammar: Usually used before a noun (a multidisciplinary team) or after a linking verb (the approach is multidisciplinary).
Patterns
- a multidisciplinary team
- multidisciplinary approach
- multidisciplinary research
The university offers a multidisciplinary course in environmental studies.
A multidisciplinary team of doctors, engineers, and designers created the device.
Their research is highly multidisciplinary, drawing on biology and computer science.
adjectivenot comparable
Relating to a method or project that brings together experts from different fields to solve a problem.
Grammar: Often used in business and academic contexts to describe collaboration across departments.
Patterns
- multidisciplinary collaboration
- multidisciplinary project
The hospital set up a multidisciplinary clinic for patients with chronic pain.
We need a multidisciplinary approach to tackle urban poverty.
Common combinations
- multidisciplinary team
- The multidisciplinary team includes nurses, social workers, and therapists.
- multidisciplinary approach
- They took a multidisciplinary approach to the study of aging.
- multidisciplinary research
- Her multidisciplinary research combines psychology and neuroscience.
- multidisciplinary collaboration
- The grant supports multidisciplinary collaboration between artists and scientists.
Synonyms and how they differ
- interdisciplinary
- This often implies deeper integration between fields, while 'multidisciplinary' simply means several disciplines are involved side by side.
- cross-disciplinary
- Similar, but emphasizes crossing boundaries; 'multidisciplinary' is more common in formal contexts.
Opposites
Word family
- discipline noun
- An area of academic study or a field of expertise.
- interdisciplinary adjective
- Involving two or more academic disciplines in an integrated way.
Commonly confused: multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary?
multidisciplinary vs interdisciplinary
Learners often use them interchangeably, but 'interdisciplinary' suggests fields are combined into one method, while 'multidisciplinary' means several fields work together without necessarily merging.
Practice
The project brought together engineers, biologists, and economists in a ______ effort.
Choose one answer.
'Multidisciplinary' is the standard adjective for combining several fields. 'Multidiscipline' is sometimes used as an adjective but is much rarer and not the usual choice. 'Disciplined' means controlled or well-trained. 'Disciplinary' relates to punishment or a field of study, not to combining fields.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “multidisciplinary”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.