many
Americanadjective
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constituting or forming a large number; numerous.
many people.
- Synonyms:
- various, sundry, divers, myriad, multitudinous, multifarious
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noting each one of a large number (usually followed by a oran ).
For many a day it rained.
noun
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a large or considerable number of persons or things.
A good many of the beggars were blind.
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the many, the greater part of humankind.
pronoun
determiner
-
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a large number of
many coaches
many times
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( as pronoun; functioning as plural )
many are seated already
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each of a considerable number of
many a man
-
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a great number of
as many apples as you like
too many clouds to see
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( as pronoun; functioning as plural )
I have as many as you
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noun
Synonym Usage
Many, innumerable, manifold, numerous imply the presence or succession of a large number of units. Many is a popular and common word for this idea: many times. Numerous, a more formal word, refers to a great number or to very many units: letters too numerous to mention. Innumerable denotes a number that is beyond count or, more loosely, that is extremely difficult to count: the innumerable stars in the sky. Manifold implies not only that the number is large but also that there is variety or complexity.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of many
First recorded before 900; Middle English mani, meni, Old English manig, menig; akin to Old Saxon, Old High German manag, menig, Danish mange, Gothic manags
Explanation
If you have a great number of refrigerator magnets, you have many of them. Many means "a lot of items." Many can be traced back to the Welsh word mynych meaning "frequent." To get many of something, you do something frequently, or often, like having many miles on a car because you often drive it long distances. If you ask, "How many people will be at the party?" you want to know the number of guests who are expected. If the answer is "many," you know there will be numerous people, though you haven't been given an exact figure.
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.
See Examples For:
The Daily Express leads with figures from Age UK showing "2m missing out on social care", detailing circumstances where "many struggle with daily tasks such as eating, dressing, bathing and using the toilet".
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Initial reports said that as many as 20 to 30 people were trapped inside but broadcaster NHK cited police early Wednesday as saying that the number was "lower than that".
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
She is reluctant to reflect too much on that time, having distanced herself from thoughts of her homeland for more than a decade, but it is clear that childhood brought "challenges", many, many challenges.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Clayton has a long legal career but doesn’t have a traditional intelligence experience as many of his predecessors had as spy chief.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Like music, a movement relies heavily on time. These women, like many others, knew the time had come.”
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
In April, Eni hiked its share buyback to up to 2.8 billion euros in a bid to return more of the war-induced cash windfall to shareholders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Few around the weightlifter knew of her elite performance background and few would have even suspected it as the Olympian settled in to a more low-key existence.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
It comes as second-quarter adjusted net profit more than doubled on the same period a year prior to 2.33 billion euros.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The Spanish giants will pay more than £100m for Diomande - making him a new record sale for RB Leipzig and he is expected to also become a new record signing for Real Madrid.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
He fulfilled the promise more than two years later, on October 20, 1944.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
"Social care is vital to protecting the most vulnerable in our society," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
The vote came hours after Zelensky met Trump at the White House and attended the Washington funeral of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Kyiv's most vocal allies in Congress.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
It is also, by most readings, where Warsh himself pointed across five hours of testimony two weeks ago, when he did nothing to prepare markets for a move.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
He has appeared in hit films such as Fight Club, Blade Runner 2049, Suicide Squad and, most recently, featured in Masters of the Universe.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
She has retired from her most recent job as a bank secretary and has dedicated much of her time as a volunteer usher at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
