multiply

multiply — verb

1. to calculate the total that results when a number is added to itself a certain n

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveA2
Definition

to calculate the total that results when a number is added to itself a certain number of times — for example, multiplying 4 by 3 gives you 12 because 4 + 4 + 4 = 12.

Example

Folake multiplied 8 by 7 in her head and announced the answer before anyone else.

multiply + number + by + number for arithmetic operation

The maths teacher asked the class to multiply 15 and 6 and write the answer.

multiply + number + and + number (alternative pattern)

Common collocations
  • multiply by
  • multiply together
  • multiply and add
Synonyms
  • times

    informal; used in spoken maths ('3 times 4 is 12')

  • calculate

    broader; refers to any arithmetic operation, not just multiplication

Antonyms
  • divide

    the inverse math operation

Grammar Patterns

multiply + number + by + number

multiply + number + and + number

Usage Note

The pattern 'multiply A by B' uses the preposition 'by', not 'with'. The result of multiplication is called the product.

Common Mistakes

I multiplied 6 with 5.
I multiplied 6 by 5.
The correct preposition is 'by', not 'with'.

2. to grow or cause something to grow a lot in number, amount, or degree, often muc

2.verbtransitive / intransitiveB1
Definition

to grow or cause something to grow a lot in number, amount, or degree, often much more than expected.

Example

The company's profits multiplied five times in three years after the new product launch.

intransitive: amounts or figures multiply (grow rapidly)

Social media posts about the festival multiplied overnight after the video went viral.

Common collocations
  • multiply rapidly
  • multiply quickly
  • multiply exponentially
  • profits multiply
  • problems multiply
  • risks multiply
Synonyms
  • increase

    general term for becoming larger; less dramatic

  • proliferate

    suggests rapid, widespread spread of things like ideas or products

  • escalate

    implies intensification, often of negative things (conflict, costs)

Antonyms
  • decrease

    general opposite: to become smaller in number or amount

  • diminish

    to become less; more formal than decrease

Grammar Patterns

multiply + noun phrase (object)

noun phrase + multiply (intransitive increase)

Usage Note

Often appears with 'by' to state the factor of increase: 'multiply by five'. Common objects include profits, costs, risks, problems, challenges, and effects. Subjects are often abstract — rumours, posts, concerns, opportunities.

Common Mistakes

The company multiplied its products.' (vague)
The company multiplied its profits by expanding overseas.
The object after 'multiply' should be a quantifiable thing like profits, costs, or risks.

3. of living things — such as animals, bacteria, or cells — to increase in number b

3.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

of living things — such as animals, bacteria, or cells — to increase in number by producing young or new individuals.

Example

Rabbits multiply very quickly when food and shelter are both plentiful.

intransitive: animals multiply in suitable conditions

Bacteria can multiply every twenty minutes in a warm container of milk.

micro-organisms multiply in warm, nutrient-rich environments

Common collocations
  • multiply rapidly
  • multiply quickly
  • bacteria multiply
  • cells multiply
  • population multiplies
Synonyms
  • reproduce

    the neutral, general term for producing offspring

  • breed

    suggests controlled or intentional reproduction, often by humans

  • propagate

    more formal; used for plants, ideas, or deliberate spreading

Antonyms
  • die off

    to decrease in population as individuals die

  • decline

    to become fewer in number

Grammar Patterns

living thing + multiply (intransitive)

Usage Note

Only used of non-human living organisms — animals, bacteria, cells, plants, insects. For humans, use 'reproduce' or 'have children' instead.

Common Mistakes

The family multiplied last year.
The rabbit population multiplied last year.
'Multiply' for reproduction is not used for humans in modern English.

multiply — adverb

multiply — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/2

While all four words describe growth, they differ in speed, scope, and connotation. Increase is the most general and neutral term — anything can increase in size, number, or degree. Multiply suggests a more dramatic, often rapid growth that feels exponential (like a number multiplied in maths). Proliferate implies widespread and often uncontrolled spreading, commonly used for ideas, technologies, or living things. Escalate carries a negative connotation of intensification, typically applied to conflict, costs, or tension. Compound means to add to something that already exists, making the total larger, often with a sense of accumulating layers. For example: 'The company's costs multiplied after the supply chain broke down.' vs 'Tensions escalated into a full-blown crisis.' vs 'His mistakes compounded his financial difficulties.' Choose multiply when the growth feels sudden and dramatic, increase for neutral growth, and escalate when things are getting worse.

increase ↗proliferateescalate ↗compound ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • multiply by
  • multiply together

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Multiply comes from the Latin word multiplicare, meaning 'to have many folds' or 'to increase in number.' It is formed from multus ('many') and plicare ('to fold'). The word entered English through Old French multiplier in the 12th century. The mathematical sense — performing repeated addition — has been in use since the late 1300s. The biological sense (of living things producing offspring) appeared in the 1500s. The adjective and adverb senses derive from the same 'many folds' idea, referring to something made of several layers or happening in several ways.