multiplex

[muhl-tuh-pleks]

adjective

1. having many parts or aspects.

   the multiplex problem of drug abuse.

2. manifold; multiple.

   the multiplex opportunities in high technology.

3. Telecommunications.,  of, relating to, or using equipment permitting the simultaneous transmission of two or more signals or messages over a single channel.

verb (used with object)

1. Telecommunications.

   1. to arrange (a circuit) for use by multiplex telegraphy, allowing multiple synchronous signals to be sent and received on a single telegraph wire.

   2. to transmit (two or more signals or messages) by a multiplex system, circuit, or the like, as in telegraph and telephone communication, or television and radio broadcasting.

verb (used without object)

1. to send several messages or signals simultaneously, as in telegraph and telephone communication, or television and radio broadcasting.

noun

1. a multiplex electronics system.

2. (in map making) a stereoscopic device that makes it possible to view pairs of aerial photographs in three dimensions.

3. Also called multiplex cinema. Also called multiplex theater. a group of two or more movie theaters on the same site or in the same building, especially a cluster of adjoining theaters.

multiplex

/ ˈmʌltɪˌplɛks /

noun

1. telecomm

   1. the use of a common communications channel for sending two or more messages or signals. In frequency-division multiplex the frequency band transmitted by the common channel is split into narrower bands each of which constitutes a distinct channel. In time-division multiplex different channels are established by intermittent connections to the common channel

   2. ( as modifier )

      a multiplex transmitter

2. 1. a purpose-built complex containing a number of cinemas and usually a restaurant or bar

   2. ( as modifier )

      a multiplex cinema

adjective

1. designating a method of map-making using three cameras to produce a stereoscopic effect

2. a less common word for multiple

verb

1. to send (messages or signals) or (of messages or signals) be sent by multiplex

Other Word Forms

• multiplexer noun
• multiplexor noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of multiplex¹

From Latin, dating back to 1550–60; multi-, -plex

Word History and Origins

Origin of multiplex¹

C16: from Latin: having many folds, from _multi- + plicāre to fold

Example Sentences

Somewhere in between is where intelligent viewers want to spend most of their time, searching for the experience they would have gotten, years ago, watching a solidly constructed, thought-provoking movie at their local multiplex.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Sly, wry, adorable and deplorable, Guillaume Marbeck is priceless as the endlessly irritating and yet frustratingly charismatic Godard in one of the year’s brightest pictures, a rare standout in a sea of multiplex mediocrity.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Friends texted to say they’d have to drive 50 miles to find a theater showing the film, a far cry from the 1980s when he got his start, and the multiplex drove culture.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But multiplex owners argue that ticket prices are reasonable and that audiences continue to visit in large numbers.

Read more on BBC

Part of the reason audiences are choosing smaller theaters over multiplexes is the care and attention staff members put into each showing.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• different 
• numerous 
• various