plural

American  

[ploor-uhl] / ˈplʊər əl /

adjective

1. consisting of, containing, or pertaining to more than one.

2. pertaining to or involving a plurality of persons or things.

3. being one of such a plurality.

4. Grammar. noting or pertaining to a member of the category of number, found in many languages, indicating that a word has more than one referent, as in English men, or more than two referents, as in Old English ge, meaning “you.”

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noun

Grammar.

• plurals
  plural

1. the plural number.

2. a form in the plural.

plural British  

/ ˈplʊərəl /

adjective

1. containing, involving, or composed of more than one person, thing, item, etc

   a plural society

2. denoting a word indicating that more than one referent is being referred to or described

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noun

1. grammar

   1. the plural number

   2. a plural form

plural Cultural  

1. The grammatical category in nouns, pronouns, and verbs that refers to more than one thing. Most nouns become plural with the addition of -s or -es: hats, chairs, dishes, countries, and so on. Some nouns form the plural in other ways, as in children, feet, geese, and women. (Compare singular; see agreement.)

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Usage

What does plural mean? In grammar, a plural is a noun that refers to more than one. For example, the noun cats is the plural of the noun cat and means more than one cat. Plural also describes something that consists of, contains, or relates to more than one of something, as in A plural society is made up of more than one cultural group in which everyone practices their own culture. Example: The plural form of ox is oxen.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• plurally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• plurals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of plural

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin plūrālis, equivalent to plūr-, stem of plūs plus + -alis -al ¹

Explanation

When you talk about a plural, you're talking about more than one. The plural form of the word "goose" is "geese." The word plural comes from the Old French plurel meaning "more than one," which is precisely how you would describe a plural form of something. In grammar, "the plural form" is used to describe more than one person, place or thing. Plurals can be tricky to master for people just learning English. There are the obvious ones where you just need to add an "s." Then, there are others: tooth, teeth; antenna, antennae; mouse, mice. The list goes on.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plural plurals

With 13% of South Africa's population living with the virus – polygamous unions have divided opinion in the country with many pointing to the dangers plural families face.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

It is to the reviewer’s disadvantage that the title of “Big Mistakes” is plural.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026

Actual implementation of a plural domestic partnership registry, however, is still at least several months away.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026

Then "grünen" indicates that the noun will be plural and green in color.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 20, 2026

So don’t assume that an exotic plural is more educated.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

"There were two guys who thought they were Jesus. So, you know, are we calling you Jesai? Do we use plurals? I can laugh about it now, but I didn't laugh at the time."

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2023

Irregular plurals may be annoying for language learners, but they’re fun to talk about!

From Slate ● Nov. 12, 2019

It’s always dealing with plurals: Usher is writing about Usher; Usher is living and remembering and ideating, all at once; he never gets a chance to be still, to be just one person.

From The New Yorker ● Jun. 24, 2019

A similar phenomenon occurs when it comes to using the plurals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 23, 2016

For most of us, plurals get sticky mainly when they involve proper names, nouns with several parts, or words that can be either singular or plural.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner