multitude

[muhl-ti-tood, -tyood]

noun

1. a great number; host.

   a multitude of friends.

2. a great number of people gathered together; crowd; throng.

   Synonyms: mass

3. the state or character of being many; numerousness.

4. the multitude, the common people; the masses.

multitude

/ ˈmʌltɪˌtjuːd /

noun

1. a large gathering of people

2. the common people

3. a large number

4. the state or quality of being numerous

Word History and Origins

Origin of multitude¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English word from Latin word multitūdō. See multi-, -tude

Word History and Origins

Origin of multitude¹

C14: via Old French from Latin multitūdō

Synonym Study

See crowd ¹.

Example Sentences

They were served by a cosmopolitan retinue: Sri Lankan singers, Arab managers, European chefs and always Afghan workers in a multitude of indispensable roles.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“It seems to me that the most exciting theater comes from a multitude of voices but involves universal themes,” Stone added.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Banks and asset managers were pledging to go “net zero,” and Democrats in Washington were advancing a multitude of policies to banish fossil fuels.

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“Bear Stearns has been the subject of a multitude of rumors concerning our liquidity,” it began.

Read more on Literature

Dowling, author of a previous biography of Shepard’s idol Eugene O’Neill, expertly untangles the history of a man who contained multitudes — “country boy, playwright, lover, rocker, husband, father.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• horde 
• legion 
• myriad 
• slew 
• throng