multiply

¹

[muhl-tuh-plahy]

verb (used with object)

multiplied, multiplying 

1. to make many or manifold; increase the number, quantity, etc., of.

2. Arithmetic.,  to find the product of by multiplication.

3. to breed (animals).

4. to propagate (plants).

5. to increase by procreation.

verb (used without object)

multiplied, multiplying 

1. to grow in number, quantity, etc.; increase.

   Synonyms: mushroom, grow, proliferate

2. Arithmetic.,  to perform the process of multiplication.

3. to increase in number by procreation or natural generation.

multiply

²

[muhl-tuh-plee]

adverb

1. in several or many ways; in a multiple manner; manifoldly.

multiply

/ ˈmʌltɪˌplaɪ /

verb

1. to increase or cause to increase in number, quantity, or degree

2. (tr) to combine (two numbers or quantities) by multiplication

3. (intr) to increase in number by reproduction

multiply

1. To perform multiplication on a pair of quantities.

Other Word Forms

• self-multiplied adjective
• self-multiplying adjective
• unmultiplied adjective
• unmultiplying adjective
• multipliable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of multiply¹

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English multiplien, from Old French multiplier, from Latin multiplicāre; multi-, ply ²

Origin of multiply²

First recorded in 1880–85; multiple + -ly

Word History and Origins

Origin of multiply¹

C13: from Old French multiplier, from Latin multiplicāre to multiply, from multus much, many + plicāre to fold

Example Sentences

Questions multiplied, but one seemed more elusive than the rest: How did a baby-faced novice from small-town California dupe some of academia’s brightest minds?

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

These products offer traders the ability to multiply earnings on daily price swings, but they also risk taking heavy losses if the underlying asset swings too far in the wrong direction.

Read more on MarketWatch

Cancer cells fall into this category, yet over time they have developed ways to block ferroptosis so they can continue multiplying even under damaging conditions.

Read more on Science Daily

As these cysts enlarge and multiply, they damage the surrounding tissue and limit the organs' ability to function.

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She could multiply fractions, turn a cartwheel, and recite entire stanzas of “The Wreck of the Hesperus,” a marvelous poem about a shipwreck by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• accumulate 
• augment 
• boost 
• breed 
• build up 
• enlarge 
• expand 
• generate 
• heighten 
• magnify 
• proliferate 
• propagate 
• spread