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.

---

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

---

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.

---

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

Netflix inked licensing deals in July with multiple media publishers for short-form video content as it seeks to compete with TikTok and YouTube.

From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026

The therapy is not suitable for men whose cancer is in multiple parts of their prostate or has spread beyond the gland.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

Micron shares are trading below $850, meaning the multiple is even lower.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026

Coast Guard and the San Francisco Fire Department and multiple partner agencies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026

“She must be really upset if she’s using multiple question marks with exclamation points. Mom is a total grammar nerd. We should get up there.”

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Add the growth variable to the mix, however, “and believe it or not, these peers have seen their post-2020 multiples compress by even more.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

OpenAI’s ChatGPT shot to more than a billion monthly active users in May, according to Sensor Tower, well above any other competitor and multiples of Anthropic’s user base.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

All these companies now have to do is deliver on higher earnings, rather than rely on the market to value them at higher multiples.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026

That is pricier than diversified equipment makers Caterpillar and Rolls-Royce, both of which have multiples below 30 times, but cheaper than turbine giant GE Vernova.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

“I’m not interested in syndication,” she said to Moody rather airily, when he asked why she didn’t make multiples.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Related Words

• different
• numerous
• various