multiply
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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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)
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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
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(tr) to combine (two numbers or quantities) by multiplication
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(intr) to increase in number by reproduction
Other Word Forms
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.
Think Alex Ferguson ranting about west-coast bias in the 1980s, multiply it by 10 and you're in the right territory.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
"My lab has been really motivated to understand how RNA viruses produce their proteins inside the cell and multiply their genome to make more virus particles," Koirala says.
From Science Daily • May 13, 2026
Your 20s are an incredibly important time to save because of all the time your investments have to compound — that is, multiply.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026
Continuing from State Route 58, we joined State Route 41, watched oak trees and vineyards pop up and multiply, continued into Paso Robles and spent the night.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
There were thousands of them swarming as far back into the underbrush as he could see, and they appeared to swell in size and multiply in number as he spied them.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
