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
Derived Forms
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unmultiplyingadjective
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self-multipliedadjective
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self-multiplyingadjective
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unmultipliedadjective
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multipliableadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has multipliedperfect 3rd person singular
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have multipliedperfect
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are multiplyingprogressive
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am multiplyingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been multiplyingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been multiplyingperfect progressive
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is multiplyingprogressive 3rd person singular
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multipliessingular 3rd person
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multiplyingparticiple
Past
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had multipliedperfect
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were multiplyingprogressive plural
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had been multiplyingperfect progressive
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was multiplyingprogressive singular
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multipliedparticiple
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multipliedsimple
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.
"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
What’s more, Nasdaq will multiply that percentage float by three-times, in calculating the weight of a low-float addition to the index.
From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026
Trump's options may be about to multiply with the arrival of around 5,000 US Marines in the region, along with paratroopers from the US 82nd Airborne Division - but there are risks here, too.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
It was an intense and disorienting time if you were simply a fan of the music; multiply that by approximately a gigaton if you were anywhere adjacent.
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026
To multiply forty-four times forty-four, you figure how much greater forty-four is than twenty-five.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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.
