Standard Lemma guide

multiplication

noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˌmʌltɪplɪˈkeɪʃən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪʃən
  • CMU ARPABET: M AH2 L T AH0 P L AH0 K EY1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 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.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: arithmetic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A calculation involving multiplication.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Topics: arithmetic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The process of multiplying or increasing in number; increase.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

the act of producing offspring or multiplying by such production

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: generation, propagation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: reproduction, procreation, breeding, facts of life

Narrower terms: biogenesis, biogeny

5

noun

Meaning 5

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the multiplication of four by three gives twelve
  • four times three equals twelve

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: times

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: arithmetic operation

6

noun

Meaning 6

a multiplicative increase

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • repeated copying leads to a multiplication of errors
  • this multiplication of cells is a natural correlate of growth

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: increase, increment, growth

Narrower terms: doubling, quadrupling, quintupling, tripling

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French, from Old French multiplicacion, from Latin multiplicatio, multiplicationem; ~equivalent to multiplicate + -ion.

Across languages

Translations

131 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: ضَرْب (ḍarb) — process
  • Armenian: բազմապատկում (bazmapatkum) — process
  • Asturian: multiplicación — process
  • Bashkir: ҡабатлау (qabatlaw) — process
  • Basque: biderketa — process
  • Belarusian: мно́жанне (mnóžannje) — process
  • Bulgarian: умноже́ние (umnožénie) — process
  • Catalan: multiplicació — process
  • Cebuano: pagpilo-pilo — process
  • Chinese Mandarin: 乘法 (chéngfǎ) — process
  • Czech: násobení — process
  • Danish: multiplikation — process
  • Dutch: vermenigvuldiging — process
  • Esperanto: multiplikado — process
  • Esperanto: multipliko — process
  • Estonian: korrutamine — process
  • Finnish: kertolasku — process
  • French: multiplication — process
  • West-Frisian: fermannichfâldiging — process
  • Galician: multiplicación — process
  • Georgian: გამრავლება (gamravleba) — process
  • German: Multiplikation — process
  • Greek: πολλαπλασιασμός (pollaplasiasmós) — process
  • Ancient Greek: πολλαπλασιασμός (pollaplasiasmós) — process
  • Hindi: गुणा (guṇā) — process
  • Hungarian: szorzás — process
  • Icelandic: margföldun — process
  • Italian: moltiplicazione — process
  • Japanese: 掛け算 (kakezan) — process
  • Japanese: 乗法 (jōhō) — process
  • Korean: 곱셈 (gopsem) — process
  • Korean: 승법 (seungbeop) — process
  • Korean: 곱하기 (gophagi) — process
  • Latvian: reizināšana — process
  • Lithuanian: daugyba — process
  • Macedonian: множење (množenje) — process
  • Malay: pendaraban — process
  • Manx: yl-raghey — process
  • Māori: whakareanga — process
  • Mongolian: үржүүлэх үйлдэл (üržüülex üjldel) — process
  • Mongolian: үржих үйлдэл (üržix üjldel) — process
  • Mongolian: ᠦᠷᠡᠵᠢᠭᠦᠯᠬᠦ ᠦᠶᠢᠯᠡᠳᠦᠯ (üreǰigülkü üyiledül) — process
  • Mongolian: ᠦᠷᠡᠵᠢᠬᠦ ᠦᠶᠢᠯᠡᠳᠦᠯ (üreǰikü üyiledül) — process
  • Nogai: керелев (kerelev) — process
  • Norwegian Bokmål: multiplikasjon — process
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: multiplikasjon — process
  • Pashto: ضرب (zarb) — process
  • Persian: ضَرْب (zarb) — process
  • Persian: بَسشُماری (bas-šomâri) — process
  • Polish: mnożenie — process
  • Portuguese: multiplicação — process
  • Romanian: multiplicare — process
  • Romanian: înmulțire — process
  • Romanian: multiplicație — process
  • Russian: умноже́ние (umnožénije) — process
  • Serbo-Croatian: мно̀же̄ње — process
  • Serbo-Croatian: mnòžēnje — process
  • Slovak: násobenie — process
  • Slovene: množenje — process
  • Southern Altai: катаар (kataar) — process
  • Southern Altai: кӧптӧӧр (köptöör) — process
  • Southern Altai: ... кӧптӧтсӧ ... болор (... köptötsö ... bolor) — process
  • Spanish: multiplicación — process
  • Swedish: multiplikation — process
  • Tagalog: palaramihan — process
  • Tagalog: pagpaparami — process
  • Tamil: பெருக்கல் (perukkal) — process
  • Telugu: గుణకారము (guṇakāramu) — process
  • Turkish: çarpma — process
  • Turkish: çarpma işlemi — process
  • Ukrainian: мно́ження (mnóžennja) — process
  • Urdu: ضَرْب (zarb) — process
  • Uzbek: koʻpaytirish — process
  • Vietnamese: phép nhân — process
  • Arabic: ضَرْب (ḍarb) — calculation
  • Armenian: բազմապատկում (bazmapatkum) — calculation
  • Azerbaijani: vurma — calculation
  • Bashkir: ҡабатлау (qabatlaw) — calculation
  • Belarusian: мно́жанне (mnóžannje) — calculation
  • Bulgarian: умноже́ние (umnožénie) — calculation
  • Cebuano: pagpilo-pilo — calculation
  • Chinese Mandarin: 乘法 (chéngfǎ) — calculation
  • Dutch: vermenigvuldiging — calculation
  • Esperanto: multipliko — calculation
  • Finnish: kertolasku — calculation
  • French: multiplication — calculation
  • Georgian: გამრავლება (gamravleba) — calculation
  • German: Multiplikation — calculation
  • Greek: πολλαπλασιασμός (pollaplasiasmós) — calculation
  • Ancient Greek: πολλαπλασιασμός (pollaplasiasmós) — calculation
  • Hungarian: szorzás — calculation
  • Japanese: 掛け算 (kakezan) — calculation
  • Japanese: 乗法 (jōhō) — calculation
  • Korean: 곱셈 (gopsem) — calculation
  • Korean: 승법 (seungbeop) — calculation
  • Macedonian: множење (množenje) — calculation
  • Malay: pendaraban — calculation
  • Māori: whakareanga — calculation
  • Norwegian Bokmål: multiplikasjon — calculation
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: multiplikasjon — calculation
  • Persian: بَسشُماری (bas-šomâri) — calculation
  • Polish: mnożenie — calculation
  • Portuguese: multiplicação — calculation
  • Romanian: înmulțire — calculation
  • Romanian: multiplicare — calculation
  • Romanian: multiplicație — calculation
  • Russian: умноже́ние (umnožénije) — calculation
  • Serbo-Croatian: мно̀же̄ње — calculation
  • Serbo-Croatian: mnòžēnje — calculation
  • Southern Altai: каттаар кӧптӧӧр (kattaar) — calculation
  • Southern Altai: ... кӧптӧтсӧ ... болор (... köptötsö ... bolor) — calculation
  • Swedish: multiplikation — calculation
  • Tagalog: palaramihan — calculation
  • Tamil: பெருக்கல் (perukkal) — calculation
  • Turkish: çarpma işlemi — calculation
  • Ukrainian: мно́ження (mnóžennja) — calculation
  • Armenian: բազմացում (bazmacʻum) — increasing in number
  • Bulgarian: увеличе́ние (uveličénie) — increasing in number
  • Finnish: lisääntyminen — increasing in number
  • Hungarian: sokasodás — increasing in number
  • Hungarian: szaporodás — increasing in number
  • Hungarian: elterjedés — increasing in number
  • Hungarian: megsokszorozódás — increasing in number
  • Icelandic: margföldun — increasing in number
  • Italian: proliferazione — increasing in number
  • Japanese: 倍増 (baizō) — increasing in number
  • Polish: mnożenie — increasing in number
  • Portuguese: proliferação — increasing in number
  • Portuguese: multiplicação — increasing in number
  • Russian: умноже́ние (umnožénije) — increasing in number
  • Russian: увеличе́ние (uveličénije) — increasing in number
Real reading context

multiplication in complete knowledge articles