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multiply1

[muhl-tuh-plahy]
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verb (used with object), mul·ti·plied, mul·ti·ply·ing.
  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.
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verb (used without object), mul·ti·plied, mul·ti·ply·ing.
  1. to grow in number, quantity, etc.; increase.
  2. Arithmetic. to perform the process of multiplication.
  3. to increase in number by procreation or natural generation.
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Origin of multiply1

1225–75; Middle English multiplien < Old French multiplier < Latin multiplicāre. See multi-, ply2
Related formsself-mul·ti·plied, adjectiveself-mul·ti·ply·ing, adjectiveun·mul·ti·plied, adjectiveun·mul·ti·ply·ing, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for multiply on Thesaurus.com
6. magnify, enlarge, intensify.

multiply2

[muhl-tuh-plee]
adverb
  1. in several or many ways; in a multiple manner; manifoldly.
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Origin of multiply2

First recorded in 1880–85; multiple + -ly

multi-ply

[muhl-tee-plahy, muhl-tahy-]
adjective
  1. having or composed of several plies: a multi-ply fabric.
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Origin of multi-ply

First recorded in 1935–40
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for multiply

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Obstacles will only increase his eagerness and multiply his artifices.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • If you are wise and old and gray in woods experience, you will multiply that length by four.

    The Forest

    Stewart Edward White

  • On the contrary, the fit should be urged to multiply as much as possible.

  • It is more easy to mention the types which should not be allowed to multiply than those which should.

  • I'm about to tell you how you can multiply yours considerable.

    Old Man Curry

    Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan

British Dictionary definitions for multiply

multiply

verb -plies, -plying or -plied
  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
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Derived Formsmultipliable or multiplicable, adjective

Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for multiply

v.

mid-12c., multeplier, "to cause to become many," from Old French multiplier, mouteplier (12c.) "increase, get bigger; flourish; breed; extend, enrich," from Latin multiplicare "to increase," from multiplex (genitive multiplicis) "having many folds, many times as great in number," from comb. form of multus (see multi-) + -plex "-fold," from PIE *plek- "to plait" (see ply (v.1.)). Mathematical sense is attested from late 14c. Related: Multiplied; multiplying.

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multi-ply

adj.

1950, from multi- + ply (n.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
multiply in Medicine

multiply

(mŭl′tə-plī′)
v.
  1. To increase the amount, number, or degree of.
  2. To breed or propagate.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
multiply in Science

multiply

[mŭl′tə-plī′]
  1. To perform multiplication on a pair of quantities.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.