multiplication — English Dictionary

Noun

1. The process of computing the sum of an addition with one and the same number a specified number of times (i.e. 4 times 5 = [0 +] 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 20) or any other analogous binary operation that combines other mathematical objects.

   Usage

   • Uncountable

2. A calculation involving multiplication.

   Usage

   • Countable

3. The process of multiplying or increasing in number; increase.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   If the lesser nobility have remained more numerous, it must be attributed partly to the gradual multiplication of letters of nobility, and partly to the state of indigence in which in some provinces vast numbers of the gentry lived, and which left them strangers to those habits of caution by which opulent families are governed.

Noun

1. the act of producing offspring or multiplying by such production

   Synonyms

   generationpropagation

   Broader terms

   reproductionprocreationbreedingfacts of life

2. a multiplicative increase

   Broader terms

   increaseincrementgrowth

   Examples

   repeated copying leads to a multiplication of errors

   this multiplication of cells is a natural correlate of growth

3. an arithmetic operation that is the inverse of division; the product of two numbers is computed

   Synonyms

   times

   Broader terms

   arithmetic operation

   Examples

   the multiplication of four by three gives twelve

   four times three equals twelve