multitude
Americannoun
-
multitudes
plural
-
a great number; host.
a multitude of friends.
-
a great number of people gathered together; crowd; throng.
- Synonyms:
- mass
-
the state or character of being many; numerousness.
-
the multitude, the common people; the masses.
noun
-
a large gathering of people
-
the common people
-
a large number
-
the state or quality of being numerous
Synonym Usage
See crowd 1.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of multitude
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English word from Latin word multitūdō. See multi-, -tude
Explanation
A multitude is a very large number or a huge crowd. If you see a multitude of zombies approaching, you're in trouble. Sometimes the word multitude refers to the common people, or the masses — that is, everyone in a society apart from the political elite. There are a lot of words and phrases for this, like hoi polloi, which is Greek for "the many," and "the great unwashed." Those last two terms are usually used in a disapproving way, but multitudes is generally a positive term. If you were to say that a leader inspired the multitudes to rise up against their oppressor, we'd assume that you sympathized with the multitudes.
Vocabulary lists containing multitude
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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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 broadcaster and campaigner was once asked about what drove her to get involved in a multitude of causes.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Shortly after I graduated from college, the internet became a global presence, and claims on my attention and everyone else’s mushroomed into a multitude of distractions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
With a multitude of online banks offering high-yield accounts, there could be some risks with new or small banks with small balance sheets, Hofferber said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
When asked about the names of officials who had withheld information from the public, Mamdani said, "this goes across a multitude of those that New Yorkers have trusted."
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
From her bed she heard Úrsula’s weeping, the steps and whispers of the multitude that invaded the house, the wailing of the mourners, and then a deep silence that smelled of trampled flowers.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Parton didn’t have children, and her husband died in 2025, but she had 11 siblings and multitudes of nieces and nephews.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
What’s more, you are also donating to a food bank to put food into the backpacks of multitudes of children.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 20, 2026
Charlie contained multitudes, and I took some satisfaction from the eulogies noticing that fact.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
A plea, a flex, a come-on — this delirious pop masterpiece contains multitudes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
If only I had truly taken advantage of the situation, seized and held and prized the multitudes of advantages the summer offered me; if only I had.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.
