multiply
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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multiplies,
present (3rd person singular)
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multiplied,
past participle, past
-
multiplying
present participle
-
to make many or manifold; increase the number, quantity, etc., of.
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Arithmetic. to find the product of by multiplication.
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to breed (animals).
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to propagate (plants).
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to increase by procreation.
verb (used without object)
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multiplies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
multiplied,
past participle, past
-
multiplying
present participle
-
to grow in number, quantity, etc.; increase.
- Synonyms:
- mushroom, grow, proliferate
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Arithmetic. to perform the process of multiplication.
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to increase in number by procreation or natural generation.
adverb
verb
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to increase or cause to increase in number, quantity, or degree
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(tr) to combine (two numbers or quantities) by multiplication
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(intr) to increase in number by reproduction
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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multipliableadjective
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self-multipliedadjective
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self-multiplyingadjective
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unmultipliedadjective
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unmultiplyingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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multiplysimple
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multipliessimple
-
have multipliedperfect
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has multipliedperfect
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am multiplyingprogressive
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are multiplyingprogressive
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is multiplyingprogressive
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have been multiplyingperfect progressive
-
has been multiplyingperfect progressive
Past
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multipliedsimple
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had multipliedperfect
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was multiplyingprogressive
-
were multiplyingprogressive
-
had been multiplyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of multiply1
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English multiplien, from Old French multiplier, from Latin multiplicāre; see multi-, ply 2
Origin of multiply2
Explanation
When you multiply two numbers, you increase the first by the same number that's specified by the second. In other words, when you multiply two by three, you add together three twos. When you're doing simple math problems, you can multiply by memorizing lists of times tables — or you can add one number as many times as the second number: four times two is the same as two fours, or eight. Another way to multiply is simply to increase or expand greatly: "If the diner starts serving homemade pie, their profits will multiply." The Latin root is multiplicare, "to increase," from multiplex, "having many folds."
Vocabulary lists containing multiply
Ratios and Proportional Relationships
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Number and Operations: Fractions
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Operations and Algebraic Thinking
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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.
See Examples For:
The beach grows brighter as fires multiply from Malvarrosa down toward the port.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
They then become active, multiply, rebuild the damaged area, and produce replacement stem cells that return to a dormant state.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026
Census Bureau, and is expected to multiply fourfold over the next 30 years.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
Boeing's MQ-28 Ghost Bat is an uncrewed aircraft, developed with the Royal Australian Air Force, to fly alongside crewed fighter jets carrying out electronic warfare and surveillance and to help multiply forces.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Because it was a really easy sum because you just multiply 864 X 1,000, which is 864,000.
From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon
The U.S. skilled workforce is aging fast, while demand for workers in the trades multiplies quickly because of surging data center demand and investment in advanced manufacturing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
Datadog, down 25%, and Snowflake, down 41%, are in this group, too, although they’re younger companies trading at high multiplies of earnings.
From Barron's ● Apr. 16, 2026
Each reuse multiplies the value of the original dataset, ensuring that no discovery is wasted, every contribution can spark the next breakthrough, and researchers gain recognition for their work.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2025
Of all of Redford’s achievements, the institute and the festival are the most wide-ranging and everlasting, two shining, defiant examples of how quickly goodness multiplies.
From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2025
When a hot virus multiplies in a host, it can saturate the body with virus particles, from the brain to the skin.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
From that game on, TV games featuring high school football multiplied and schools began to travel around the country for marquee matchups.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
Over the years, their cachet as actors has only multiplied.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Lawmakers agreed on the need for regulation, as warnings have multiplied over the harmful affects of social media on children.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
A tax break for investing in small businesses is being multiplied by two, three, four or even more times through the use of trusts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
I frowned as my thoughts tumbled and multiplied.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
We see Holbein’s image of Anne multiplying through an 18th-century oil portrait; Jacob Houbraken’s 1738 engraving and a constellation of miniature copies; and Queen Victoria’s sketch of Giulia Grisi singing in Donizetti’s opera “Anna Bolena.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
It might not be accurate, but it is close enough that people can apply their situation to it by multiplying up or down.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
If one of those changes allows a cell to survive a drug that kills other tumor cells, that resistant cell can continue multiplying.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
Sandbanks are multiplying, depths fall to barely one meter in places, and the river's few remaining fishermen swelter in the heat.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
GRACE, Hope you don’t screw up multiplying 7 .
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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.
