multiple

American  

[muhl-tuh-puhl] / ˈmʌl tə pəl /

adjective

1. consisting of, having, or involving several or many individuals, parts, elements, relations, etc.; manifold.

2. Electricity.

   1. (of circuits) arranged in parallel.

   2. (of a circuit or circuits) having a number of points at which connection can be made.

3. Botany. (of a fruit) collective.

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noun

• multiples
  plural

1. Mathematics. a number that contains another number an integral number of times without a remainder.

   12 is a multiple of 3.

2. Electricity. a group of terminals arranged to make a circuit or group of circuits accessible at a number of points at any one of which connection can be made.

multiple British  

/ ˈmʌltɪpəl /

adjective

1. having or involving more than one part, individual, etc

   he had multiple injuries

2. electronics (of a circuit) having a number of conductors in parallel

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noun

1. the product of a given number or polynomial and any other one

   6 is a multiple of 2

2. telephony an electrical circuit accessible at a number of points to any one of which a connection can be made

3. short for multiple store

multiple Scientific  

/ mŭl′tə-pəl /

1. A number that may be divided by another number with no remainder. For example, 4, 10, and 32 are multiples of 2.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonmultiple
  adjective
• multiply
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• multiples
  plural

Etymology

Origin of multiple

First recorded in 1570–80; from French, from Late Latin multiplus “manifold”; see multi-

Explanation

When you're talking about more than one, you're talking about multiple things. A machine with many fixtures has multiple parts. A person that seems like two totally different people on different days might have multiple personalities. The word multiple comes from the Latin multiplus meaning "manifold." When something exists in multiple forms, it's manifold, or has many kinds. Think of a multiplex theater that can show multiple movies at once. Walk through a garden full of flowers and you'll see multiple kinds of blooms. A multiple is also a number that can be divided into another number without a remainder. Multiples of five, for example are ten, fifteen, twenty... — you get the picture.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

multiple multiples

Emergency services were called to reports of multiple people in need of medical attention at Big Church Festival, near Steyning, shortly after 15:30 BST on Friday.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

Instead, it is woven into multiple lines across the IT budget.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Riley said multiple times this summer that he is now more “well-equipped” to win.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

The Beznau nuclear power plant in Switzerland, which was shut down multiple times over the last two months due to summer heatwaves, is fully operational again, Swiss energy company Axpo said Friday.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

“They are offline. I have told you this multiple times,” Guardian says.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

AI frenzy drives Chinese tech valuations to multiples of U.S. peers.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Firefighters attended multiples fires in Stoke-on-Trent after fences, gardens and garages were alight.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

“With each look we would get excited about, we’d need to think, ‘Does it need multiples?

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

Maybe at peak valuations these stocks were trading on a price-earnings multiples of 30-40 times, Lapping observes, but not after the winnowing caused by AI fears:

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

The most striking multiples are those when several people claim to make a discovery at almost exactly the same time.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• different
• numerous
• various