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)
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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
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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
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
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were multiplyingprogressive
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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:
Meanwhile, just seconds after it launched, $LAPTOP earned enough trading volume to see its valuation multiply exponentially, shooting up from $37 to over $200.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
Now multiply that risk by tens of thousands of users.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
This temporarily lowers the number of certain immune cells, creating room for the CAR T cells to multiply and function effectively.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
Canada would be very exposed if the import taxes multiply on both sides because 70% of its exports are to the US.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
The weekend gave me time to multiply my worries.
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
Nuclear proliferation just multiplies the odds that there’s going to be a mistake or miscalculation that causes nuclear weapons to be used, so the world should definitely be focused on not allowing more nuclear countries.
From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026
A triple-leveraged ETF that multiplies those daily changes would wind up being worth about 1.4% less than the starting amount before expenses, which are often significant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 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
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
But a computer mouse multiplies as either mice or mouses.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
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
For an ice cream truck visiting a summer camp, the TAM is all the kids at the camp multiplied by how much ice cream each kid would buy that summer.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026
But attacks have multiplied in 2026, particularly in the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen, which links the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
From that game on, TV games featuring high school football multiplied and schools began to travel around the country for marquee matchups.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
Letters were multiplied by symbols, crowded into parentheses, and set upon by dwarfish numbers drawn at odd angles.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Dormant cells, however, are not actively multiplying, which can make them much harder to eliminate.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
It might not be accurate, but it is close enough that people can apply their situation to it by multiplying up or down.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
The most in-demand products are server racks that house AI processing cards -- a key component for the data centers multiplying across the United States.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
But even the number of claimed interceptions shows how the attacks are multiplying.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
For instance, multiplying by the number i was equivalent to spinning the sphere 90 degrees clockwise.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
