multiply
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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multiplies,
present (3rd person singular)
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multiplied,
past participle, past
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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)
-
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
-
(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
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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:
Compared with humans, marmosets have a shorter overall period during which these cells can multiply rapidly.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026
She predicted that "stores will multiply initiatives to bring customers in, whether with claw machines or in other forms".
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
They produce insulin-like growth factor 1 and other growth factors that help keratinocytes multiply and close wounds.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
Sailors practiced dead reckoning: Start from a known point, multiply speed by elapsed time, and then hope for the best.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
It could multiply in many different kinds of meat.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
At issue is what is known as trust stacking, which multiplies the benefits of a tax break for investors in small companies by two, three, four or even more times.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 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
As his audience multiplies, Fish’s earliest followers remain enthralled by his seemingly infinite rise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2025
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
If we truly want to end violence in our communities, we must come to understand, as discussed in the final chapter, the ways in which mass incarceration increases—not decreases—violence and multiplies its harms.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
During his 15-year tenure as CEO, which ended Aug. 31, Apple’s market cap multiplied by a factor of 13.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Using an innovative DNA recording technology, the researchers followed how those early cells multiplied, developed specialized roles, and eventually helped form a body with distinct organs and tissues.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
In Syria, demonstrations have multiplied over recent days against a drastic increase in fuel prices.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
In Cibolo, a city north of San Antonio with a population of 36,000, an authority grant multiplied the number of Flock cameras from 11 to 52.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
Even small improvements in speed and efficiency multiplied over millions of pilot miles added up to a difference that could tip the long-term balance of the war in the Allies’ favor.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
European officials have been multiplying calls for greater integration in the banking sector, arguing that the persistent fragmentation of the European Union is hampering the continent’s competitiveness.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
NPUs, like Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon and Google’s Tensor chips in its Pixel phones, are multiplying.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
The metric is calculated by taking revenue from a short period, such as a month or a quarter, and multiplying it to gauge what a company could earn over a full year.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Alongside rapidly multiplying cancer cells are immune cells, newly formed blood vessels and a particularly concerning group of cancer cells that remain unusually quiet.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
Their own accounts speak of the multiplying of Men in the land, and of a shadow that fell on the forest, so that it became darkened and its new name was Mirkwood.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
