multiplication
Americannoun
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the act or process of multiplying multiply or the state of being multiplied. multiply.
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Arithmetic. a mathematical operation, symbolized by a × b, a ⋅ b, a ∗ b, or ab, and signifying, when a and b are positive integers, that a is to be added to itself as many times as there are units in b; the addition of a number to itself as often as is indicated by another number, as in 2×3 or 5×10.
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Mathematics. any generalization of this operation applicable to numbers other than integers, as fractions or irrational numbers.
noun
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an arithmetical operation, defined initially in terms of repeated addition, usually written a × b, a.b, or ab, by which the product of two quantities is calculated: to multiply a by positive integral b is to add a to itself b times. Multiplication by fractions can then be defined in the light of the associative and commutative properties; multiplication by 1/ n is equivalent to multiplication by 1 followed by division by n: for example 0.3 × 0.7 = 0.3 × 7/ 10 = (0.3 × 7)/10 = 2 1/ 10 = 0.21
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the act of multiplying or state of being multiplied
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the act or process in animals, plants, or people of reproducing or breeding
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A mathematical operation performed on a pair of numbers in order to derive a third number called a product. For positive integers, multiplication consists of adding a number (the multiplicand) to itself a specified number of times. Thus multiplying 6 by 3 means adding 6 to itself three times. The operation of multiplication is extended to other real numbers according to the rules governing the multiplicative properties of positive integers.
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Any of certain analogous operations involving mathematical objects other than numbers.
Other Word Forms
- multiplicational adjective
- nonmultiplication noun
- nonmultiplicational adjective
- overmultiplication noun
- remultiplication noun
Etymology
Origin of multiplication
1350–1400; Middle English multiplicacio ( u ) n < Latin multiplicātiōn- (stem of multiplicātiō ). See multi-, plication
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If you correctly answered 30 multiplication questions in 60 seconds, you received a calendar as a prize, and were then excused from any future exams.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
Try jotting down three fractions separated by multiplication signs: earnings/sales x sales/assets x assets/equity.
From Barron's • Dec. 26, 2025
Then, an array of programmable beamsplitters, which was demonstrated in the 2017 paper, performs matrix multiplication on those inputs.
From Science Daily • Dec. 2, 2024
This multiplication of meaning is a form of linguistic play, a turning to imagine what one might do with the unexpected bounty of ten thousand spoons.
From Salon • Nov. 29, 2024
During those years when I was memorizing the questions and answers of The Baltimore Catechism, I was also impressing on my memory the spelling of hundreds of words, grammar rules, division and multiplication tables.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
