multiplier

[ muhl-tuh-plahy-er ]

/ ˈmʌl təˌplaɪ ər /

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noun

a person or thing that multiplies.

Arithmetic. a number by which another is multiplied.

Physics. a device for intensifying some effect.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of multiplier

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at multiply¹, -er¹

Words nearby multiplier

multiplicative, multiplicative group, multiplicative identity, multiplicative inverse, multiplicity, multiplier, multiplier effect, multiply, multiply-connected, multipolar, multiport

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use multiplier in a sentence

Consumers need to understand that serving size is a multiplier of the amount of salt they may be getting.
Americans can’t cut back on salt. One likely reason: Packaged and prepared foods are filled with it.|Marlene Cimons|January 31, 2021|Washington Post
A CSF would also have a powerful multiplier effect by attracting further private capital.
Why the U.S. needs a national climate investment fund|matthewheimer|January 3, 2021|Fortune
By 2014, the Defense Department had applied the term “threat multiplier” to climate change, describing how it would make many of the security establishment’s greatest nightmares even worse.
The Big Thaw: How Russia Could Dominate a Warming World|by Abrahm Lustgarten, photography by Sergey Ponomarev|December 16, 2020|ProPublica
Yes, commercially sustainable solutions make a big difference because they create multiplier effects far beyond the check that you write.
Why Mastercard isn’t a credit card company, according to its outgoing CEO Ajay Banga|cleaf2013|December 3, 2020|Fortune

Lawson-Remer, an economist by training, said she’ll prioritize the most vulnerable when weighing any new investments and look for multiplier effects, ways in which a dollar can be worth three or four by extension.
Dems Want Control of the County – Here’s What They Say They’d Do With it|Jesse Marx|October 7, 2020|Voice of San Diego
This platform can be a force multiplier for those struggling against tyranny.
New Web Platform Crowdsources Human Rights|Josh Rogin|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Second, the economic “multiplier” of state and local spending (not including transfer payments) is large – around 1.24.
Two Important New Studies: Spending = Jobs|Michael Tomasky|July 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And how to foster collaboration between them to become a force multiplier?
We’re Launching a Foundation!|Tina Brown|September 13, 2011|DAILY BEAST
That,” she says, “is the multiplier effect of investing in women.
Women | Tools | Technology: The Multiplier Effect, An ExxonMobil-Sponsored Series|Daily Beast Promotions|March 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
This network of allies is a major force multiplier for al Qaeda today.
Al Qaeda's Post-9/11 Surge|Bruce Riedel|September 9, 2010|DAILY BEAST
From the example it will be seen that he begins by multiplying by 3, the right-hand digit of the multiplier.
William Oughtred|Florian Cajori
In a few words, most reports are false, and the timidity of men acts as a multiplier of lies and untruths.
On War|Carl von Clausewitz
Now 10 is the earliest number written with two digits: and the higher the multiplier, so much harder, apparently, the process.
The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. II (2 vols)|Thomas De Quincey
The reel should be a simple click, never a multiplier, but large-barrelled, and fastened to the butt with a leather strap.
Fishing With The Fly|Charles F. Orvis and Others
Therefore zeros in the multiplier would cause a corresponding change of position in the figures of the multiplicand.
Montessori Elementary Materials|Maria Montessori

British Dictionary definitions for multiplier

multiplier

/ (ˈmʌltɪˌplaɪə) /

noun

a person or thing that multiplies

the number by which another number, the multiplicand, is multipliedSee also multiplicand

physics any device or instrument, such as a photomultiplier, for increasing an effect

economics

the ratio of the total change in income (resulting from successive rounds of spending) to an initial autonomous change in expenditure
(as modifier)multiplier effects

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

Scientific definitions for multiplier

multiplier

[ mŭl′tə-plī′ər ]

The number by which another number is multiplied.