plural
Americanadjective
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consisting of, containing, or pertaining to more than one.
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pertaining to or involving a plurality of persons or things.
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being one of such a plurality.
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Grammar. noting or pertaining to a member of the category of number, found in many languages, indicating that a word has more than one referent, as in English men, or more than two referents, as in Old English ge, meaning “you.”
noun
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the plural number.
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a form in the plural.
adjective
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containing, involving, or composed of more than one person, thing, item, etc
a plural society
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denoting a word indicating that more than one referent is being referred to or described
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Usage
What does plural mean? In grammar, a plural is a noun that refers to more than one. For example, the noun cats is the plural of the noun cat and means more than one cat.Plural also describes something that consists of, contains, or relates to more than one of something, as in A plural society is made up of more than one cultural group in which everyone practices their own culture.Example: The plural form of ox is oxen.
Other Word Forms
- plurally adverb
Etymology
Origin of plural
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin plūrālis, equivalent to plūr-, stem of plūs plus + -alis -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The companies at the heart of AI now are talking about years—plural—of major investments still ahead.
The new title’s plural refers to the author’s constant themes, which aren’t surprising.
From Los Angeles Times
“Data is not the plural of anecdote,” as any statistician will tell you.
From MarketWatch
In recent years several reality shows have given an insight into life in plural families - and sparked debate about whether they are still relevant.
From BBC
For a start we now say Greens plural when talking about them - for the first time there is more than one of them.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.