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

Three innings later, he sent another ball soaring into the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field, making Báez just the eighth player since 1900 to hit multiple home runs in his debut.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

The animals are most active at night and sometimes travel multiple miles to get from one body of water to another.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Alonso did not hold a media conference to explain his team selection, but multiple sources said it was his decision to leave them out.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

With multiple platforms boasting over 1 billion users, Google’s advantage comes from being able to easily distribute its Gemini models.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

Figure 1.47: When multiple simultaneous rhythms are written on the same staff, rests may be used to clarify individual rhythms, even if another rhythm contains notes at that point.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

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

If instead this was done on revenue per World Cup 2026 match, Fifa makes multiples of the Premier League, perhaps more than three times as much.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

And these sectors come with the potential for much higher multiples.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

To make the fraction smaller, I know that both numbers are multiples of five.

From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari

Related Words

• different
• numerous
• various