multiply
verb (used with object)
to make many or manifold; increase the number, quantity, etc., of.
had been multiplying
-
past perfect progressiveof multiply.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Motels had been multiplying nationwide for more than 30 years, often adding swimming pools to lure more families or adopting elaborate themes to stand apart.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2025
The house was full of cups—mugs and glasses everywhere, like they had been multiplying during the party.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
For in Tasmania the sheep had been multiplying at a great rate, while the amount of clear and grassy land in that island was very limited.
From History of Australia and New Zealand From 1606 to 1890 by Alexander Sutherland
For three hundred years and more the long steadily accelerated diastole of Europeanised civilisation had been in progress: towns had been multiplying, populations increasing, values rising, new countries developing; thought, literature, knowledge unfolding and spreading.
From The War in the Air by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Schools had been multiplying for elementary and high school instruction, but there was no provision for a liberal education.
From History Of The Missions Of The American Board Of Commissioners For Foreign Missions To The Oriental Churches, Volume II. by Rufus Anderson
