multiple

[muhl-tuh-puh l]

adjective

consisting of, having, or involving several or many individuals, parts, elements, relations, etc.; manifold.
Electricity.
1. (of circuits) arranged in parallel.
2. (of a circuit or circuits) having a number of points at which connection can be made.
Botany. (of a fruit) collective.

noun

Mathematics. a number that contains another number an integral number of times without a remainder: 12 is a multiple of 3.
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.

Origin of multiple

1570–80; < French < Late Latin multiplus manifold. See multi-, duple

Related formsnon·mul·ti·ple, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for multiples

Contemporary Examples of multiples

While none of the cars have seen full-blown production, a few have been created in multiples.
Dreaming Up the Cars of the Future
Justin Jones
July 10, 2014
And I got to kiss Patrick and Keanu multiples times every day!
Lori Petty on ‘Orange Is the New Black,’ the Halcyon ‘90s, and Discovering Jennifer Lawrence
Marlow Stern
June 8, 2014
More Americans suffered violent deaths in Iraq than did on 9/11, and multiples more were scarred for life.
The Lessons of 9/11
Richard A. Clarke
September 7, 2011

Historical Examples of multiples

Normally a jellyfish has its parts in four or multiples of four.
The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4)
J. Arthur Thomson
The parts of the flowers are generally in multiples of five.
On the Origin of Species
Charles Darwin
All the other sizes were made to conform to multiples of this point.
The Building of a Book
Various
This is an initial exercise which leads up to the multiples of 10.
Montessori Elementary Materials
Maria Montessori
The multiples of the Log which formed the Cab, etc., are given above.
Archology and the Bible
George A. Barton

British Dictionary definitions for multiples

multiple

adjective

having or involving more than one part, individual, etche had multiple injuries
electronics, US and Canadian (of a circuit) having a number of conductors in parallel

noun

the product of a given number or polynomial and any other one6 is a multiple of 2
telephony an electrical circuit accessible at a number of points to any one of which a connection can be made
short for multiple store

Derived Formsmultiply, adverb

Word Origin for multiple

C17: via French from Late Latin multiplus, from Latin multiplex

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for multiples

multiple

adj.

1640s, "involving many parts," from French multiple (14c.), from Late Latin multiplus "manifold," from Latin multi- "many, much" (see multi-) + -plus "-fold," (see -fold). The noun is from 1680s, in mathematics, from the adjective. Multiple choice as a type of question attested from 1828. Multiple exposure first recorded 1923.

multiples in Science