multiply
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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multiplies,
present (3rd person singular)
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multiplied,
past participle, past
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multiplying
present participle
-
to make many or manifold; increase the number, quantity, etc., of.
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Arithmetic. to find the product of by multiplication.
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to breed (animals).
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to propagate (plants).
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to increase by procreation.
verb (used without object)
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multiplies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
multiplied,
past participle, past
-
multiplying
present participle
-
to grow in number, quantity, etc.; increase.
- Synonyms:
- mushroom, grow, proliferate
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Arithmetic. to perform the process of multiplication.
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to increase in number by procreation or natural generation.
adverb
verb
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to increase or cause to increase in number, quantity, or degree
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(tr) to combine (two numbers or quantities) by multiplication
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(intr) to increase in number by reproduction
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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multipliableadjective
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self-multipliedadjective
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self-multiplyingadjective
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unmultipliedadjective
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unmultiplyingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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multiplysimple
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multipliessimple
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have multipliedperfect
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has multipliedperfect
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am multiplyingprogressive
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are multiplyingprogressive
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is multiplyingprogressive
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have been multiplyingperfect progressive
-
has been multiplyingperfect progressive
Past
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multipliedsimple
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had multipliedperfect
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was multiplyingprogressive
-
were multiplyingprogressive
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had been multiplyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of multiply1
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English multiplien, from Old French multiplier, from Latin multiplicāre; see multi-, ply 2
Origin of multiply2
Explanation
When you multiply two numbers, you increase the first by the same number that's specified by the second. In other words, when you multiply two by three, you add together three twos. When you're doing simple math problems, you can multiply by memorizing lists of times tables — or you can add one number as many times as the second number: four times two is the same as two fours, or eight. Another way to multiply is simply to increase or expand greatly: "If the diner starts serving homemade pie, their profits will multiply." The Latin root is multiplicare, "to increase," from multiplex, "having many folds."
Vocabulary lists containing multiply
Ratios and Proportional Relationships
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Number and Operations: Fractions
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Operations and Algebraic Thinking
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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 researchers developed a precisely defined mixture of chemicals that allowed GMPs to survive and multiply for extended periods in the laboratory.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Once macrophages have fully matured, they are difficult to multiply in large quantities outside the body.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
The prime minister noted AI will "multiply" existing threats, and pitched the UK as an "honest broker" on the technology.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
U.S. crude prices have jumped 19% in the past three weeks to trade near $101 a barrel as attacks in the Middle East multiply.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Was it always so, or did they multiply vastly, along with telephones and new shoes and transistor radios and cellophane-wrapped tomatoes, in our absence?
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
A triple-leveraged ETF that multiplies those daily changes would wind up being worth about 1.4% less than the starting amount before expenses, which are often significant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
The prevailing theory is that the first to achieve AGI will secure a prize that multiplies itself: a self-training, recursively improving intelligence, growing exponentially and leaving all competitors in its wake.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
Datadog, down 25%, and Snowflake, down 41%, are in this group, too, although they’re younger companies trading at high multiplies of earnings.
From Barron's ● Apr. 16, 2026
Each reuse multiplies the value of the original dataset, ensuring that no discovery is wasted, every contribution can spark the next breakthrough, and researchers gain recognition for their work.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2025
Ebola attacks connective tissue with particular ferocity; it multiplies in collagen, the chief constituent protein of the tissue that holds the organs together.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Using an innovative DNA recording technology, the researchers followed how those early cells multiplied, developed specialized roles, and eventually helped form a body with distinct organs and tissues.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
This cycle, multiplied many times over by the use of autonomous AI agents, was essential to OpenAI’s Navier-Stokes result.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
In Syria, demonstrations have multiplied over recent days against a drastic increase in fuel prices.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
In Cibolo, a city north of San Antonio with a population of 36,000, an authority grant multiplied the number of Flock cameras from 11 to 52.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
Everything, Mr Tibbs told himself, must be multiplied by four.
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
When these genes are altered, cells can begin multiplying uncontrollably.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026
As of June, Lumen had put down approximately 19 million “fiber miles,” which is calculated by multiplying the length of the route by the number of fibers inside each cable.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
Alongside rapidly multiplying cancer cells are immune cells, newly formed blood vessels and a particularly concerning group of cancer cells that remain unusually quiet.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
We see Holbein’s image of Anne multiplying through an 18th-century oil portrait; Jacob Houbraken’s 1738 engraving and a constellation of miniature copies; and Queen Victoria’s sketch of Giulia Grisi singing in Donizetti’s opera “Anna Bolena.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Just as multiplying by zero causes the number line to collapse into a point, the vanishing point has caused most of the universe to sit in a tiny dot.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
