Standard Lemma guide

plural

adj · noun · 10 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.

  • /ˈplʊəɹəl/ without the pour–poor merger
  • plo͝or'-rəl without the pour–poor merger
  • /ˈplɔːɹəl/ pour–poor merger
  • plô'-rəl pour–poor merger
  • obsolete: /ˈpljʊəɹəl/
  • obsolete: plyo͝or'-rəl
  • /ˈplɵːɹəl/ without the pour–poor merger
  • /ˈploːɹəl/ pour–poor merger
  • /ˈplʊɹəl/ without the cure–fir merger
  • plo͝oər'-əl without the cure–fir merger
  • plûr'-əl without the cure–fir merger
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /ˈplɝ.əl/ cure–fir merger
  • plo͝oər'-əl cure–fir merger
  • plûr'-əl cure–fir merger
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /ˈplʉːɹəl/
  • Ireland: /ˈpluːɹəl/
  • Scotland: /ˈplʉɾəl/
  • Scotland: [ˈplʉːɾəl]
  • rhymes with -ʊəɹəl
  • CMU ARPABET: P L UH1 R AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Consisting of or containing more than one of something.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The notion of culture is one whose meanings are plural and shifting.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: manifold, multiple, morefold, several

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

In systems of number, not singular or not singular or dual.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

Examples

  • English nouns usually have singular and plural forms.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Pluralistic.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Having some form of multiplicity, especially dissociative identity disorder.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Qualifier: multiplicity

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

The plural number. In English, referring to more or less than one of something.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A word in the form in which it potentially refers to something other than one person or thing; and other than two things if the language has a dual form.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

Examples

  • The plural of 'cat' is 'cats', but the plural of 'child' is 'children'.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

A person with some form of multiplicity, particularly dissociative identity disorder.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Qualifier: multiplicity

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: multiple, system

Antonyms: none provided

8

adjective

Meaning 8

grammatical number category referring to two or more items or units

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: singular

9

adjective

Meaning 9

composed of more than one member, set, or kind

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: singular

10

noun

Meaning 10

the form of a word that is used to denote more than one

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: plural form

Antonyms: singular

Broader terms: form, word form, signifier, descriptor

History

Etymology

From Middle English plurelle, from Old French plurel (“plural”), Borrowed from Latin plūrālis (“of or belonging to more than one, belonging to many”, adjective), from plūs, plūris (“more”) + -ālis.

Across languages

Translations

200 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: shumës — more than one
  • Armenian: հոգնակի (hognaki) — more than one
  • Bulgarian: множествен (množestven) — more than one
  • Catalan: plural — more than one
  • Chinese Mandarin: 複數 /复数 (fùshù) — more than one
  • Chinese Mandarin: 眾數 /众数 (zhòngshù) — more than one
  • Danish: flere — more than one
  • Danish: flertal — more than one
  • Danish: plural — more than one
  • Dutch: meervoudig — more than one
  • Dutch: meervoudige — more than one
  • Esperanto: plurnombra — more than one
  • Finnish: monikollinen — more than one
  • Finnish: monikko- — more than one
  • French: pluriel — more than one
  • Galician: plural — more than one
  • German: Plural- — more than one
  • German: pluralisch — more than one
  • German: plural — more than one
  • German: mehrfach — more than one
  • German: Mehrzahl- — more than one
  • Greek: πληθυντικός (plithyntikós) — more than one
  • Ancient Greek: πληθυντικός (plēthuntikós) — more than one
  • Hebrew: לשון רבים (lišon rabim) — more than one
  • Hindi: अनेक (anek) — more than one
  • Icelandic: fleir- — more than one
  • Icelandic: marg- — more than one
  • Icelandic: fleirtölu- — more than one
  • Icelandic: í fleirtölu — more than one
  • Ido: plurala — more than one
  • Indonesian: jamak — more than one
  • Irish: iolra — more than one
  • Italian: plurale — more than one
  • Japanese: 複数 (fukusū) — more than one
  • Kabyle: asget — more than one
  • Korean: 복수 (boksu) — more than one
  • Latin: plūrālis — more than one
  • Ligurian: plurâle — more than one
  • Malay: jamak — more than one
  • Occitan: plural — more than one
  • Persian: جمع (jam') — more than one
  • Persian: پر (porr) — more than one
  • Polish: mnogi — more than one
  • Portuguese: plural — more than one
  • Romanian: plural — more than one
  • Russian: мно́жественный (mnóžestvennyj) — more than one
  • Scottish Gaelic: iolra — more than one
  • Serbo-Croatian: множински — more than one
  • Serbo-Croatian: плурални — more than one
  • Serbo-Croatian: množinski — more than one
  • Serbo-Croatian: pluralni — more than one
  • Spanish: plural — more than one
  • Swedish: plural — more than one
  • Swedish: flertal — more than one
  • Tamil: பல (pala) — more than one
  • Tamil: பன் (paṉ) — more than one
  • Thai: พหูพจน์ (pá-hǔu-pót) — more than one
  • Turkish: çok — more than one
  • Ukrainian: множи́нний (množýnnyj) — more than one
  • Ukrainian: чисельний (čyselʹnyj) — more than one
  • Volapük: plunumik — more than one
  • Walloon: pluriyal — more than one
  • Welsh: lluosog — more than one
  • Albanian: shumës — the plural number
  • Arabic: الْجَمْع (al-jamʕ) — the plural number
  • Azerbaijani: cəm — the plural number
  • Belarusian: мно́жны лік (mnóžny lik) — the plural number
  • Bulgarian: мно́жествено число́ (mnóžestveno čisló) — the plural number
  • Catalan: plural — the plural number
  • Chinese Mandarin: 複數 /复数 (fùshù) — the plural number
  • Chinese Mandarin: 眾數 /众数 (zhòngshù) — the plural number
  • Danish: flertal — the plural number
  • Dutch: meervoud — the plural number
  • Esperanto: multenombro — the plural number
  • Estonian: mitmus — the plural number
  • Finnish: monikko — the plural number
  • French: pluriel — the plural number
  • Galician: plural — the plural number
  • German: Mehrzahl — the plural number
  • German: Plural — the plural number
  • Hungarian: többes szám — the plural number
  • Japanese: 複数 (fukusū) — the plural number
  • Kazakh: көптік жалғау (köptık jalğau) — the plural number
  • Korean: 복수 (boksu) — the plural number
  • Kyrgyz: көптүк сан (köptük san) — the plural number
  • Kyrgyz: көптүк (köptük) — the plural number
  • Latin: (numerus) pluralis — the plural number
  • Latin: numerus multitudinis — the plural number
  • Latin: multitudo — the plural number
  • Latin: pluralitas — the plural number
  • Latvian: daudzskaitlis — the plural number
  • Lithuanian: daugiskaita — the plural number
  • Macedonian: множина (množina) — the plural number
  • Macedonian: мн. (mn.) — the plural number
  • Mongolian: олон тоо (olon too) — the plural number
  • Norwegian Bokmål: flertall — the plural number
  • Persian: جمع (jam') — the plural number
  • Polish: liczba mnoga — the plural number
  • Portuguese: plural — the plural number
  • Russian: мно́жественное число́ (mnóžestvennoje čisló) — the plural number
  • Russian: мн. ч. (mn. č.) — the plural number
  • Russian: мн. (mn.) — the plural number
  • Serbo-Croatian: множѝна — the plural number
  • Serbo-Croatian: плу̀ра̄л — the plural number
  • Serbo-Croatian: množìna — the plural number
  • Serbo-Croatian: plùrāl — the plural number
  • Slovak: množné číslo — the plural number
  • Slovak: plurál — the plural number
  • Slovene: množina — the plural number
  • Spanish: plural — the plural number
  • Swedish: flertal — the plural number
  • Swedish: pluralis — the plural number
  • Tagalog: maramihan — the plural number
  • Tajik: ҷамъ (jam') — the plural number
  • Tamil: பன்மை (paṉmai) — the plural number
  • Ukrainian: множина́ (množyná) — the plural number
  • Uyghur: كۆپلۈك سان (köplük san) — the plural number
  • Vietnamese: số nhiều — the plural number
  • Walloon: pluriyal — the plural number
  • Yiddish: מערצאָל (mertsol) — the plural number
  • Albanian: shumës — word in plural form
  • Arabic: جَمْع (jamʕ) — word in plural form
  • Armenian: հոգնակի թիվ (hognaki tʻiv) — word in plural form
  • Armenian: հոգնակի (hognaki) — word in plural form
  • Azerbaijani: cəm — word in plural form
  • Belarusian: мно́жны лік (mnóžny lik) — word in plural form
  • Bulgarian: мно́жествено число́ (mnóžestveno čisló) — word in plural form
  • Burmese: ဗဟုဝုစ်ကိန်း (ba.hu.wuckin:) — word in plural form
  • Catalan: plural — word in plural form
  • Chinese Mandarin: 複數 /复数 (fùshù) — word in plural form
  • Chinese Mandarin: 眾數 /众数 (zhòngshù) — word in plural form
  • Czech: množné číslo — word in plural form
  • Danish: flertal — word in plural form
  • Dutch: meervoud — word in plural form
  • Estonian: mitmus — word in plural form
  • Faroese: fleirtal — word in plural form
  • Finnish: monikko — word in plural form
  • French: pluriel — word in plural form
  • West-Frisian: meartal — word in plural form
  • Galician: plural — word in plural form
  • Georgian: მრავლობითი (mravlobiti) — word in plural form
  • Georgian: მრავლობითი რიცხვი (mravlobiti ricxvi) — word in plural form
  • German: Plural — word in plural form
  • German: Pluralform — word in plural form
  • Greek: πληθυντικός (plithyntikós) — word in plural form
  • Hindi: बहुवचन (bahuvcan) — word in plural form
  • Hungarian: többes számú alak — word in plural form
  • Icelandic: fleirtala — word in plural form
  • Indonesian: bentuk jamak — word in plural form
  • Ingrian: monikko — word in plural form
  • Italian: plurale — word in plural form
  • Japanese: 複数形 (fukusūkei) — word in plural form
  • Japanese: 複数 (fukusū) — word in plural form
  • Khmer: ពហុវចនៈ (pĕəʼhuʼ vaccaʼnaʼ) — word in plural form
  • Korean: 복수형 (boksuhyeong) — word in plural form
  • Korean: 복수 (boksu) — word in plural form
  • Central Kurdish: پِڕژِمار (pirrjimar) — word in plural form
  • Lao: ພະຫຸພົດ (pha hu phot) — word in plural form
  • Latvian: daudzskaitlis — word in plural form
  • Lithuanian: daugiskaita — word in plural form
  • Luxembourgish: Pluriel — word in plural form
  • Luxembourgish: Méizuel — word in plural form
  • Macedonian: множина (množina) — word in plural form
  • Mongolian: олон тоо (olon too) — word in plural form
  • Navajo: díkwíjíltʼéego — word in plural form
  • Navajo: naaki dóó baʼąą — word in plural form
  • Navajo: tááʼ dóó baʼąą — word in plural form
  • Norman: pluriel — word in plural form
  • Norwegian Bokmål: flertall — word in plural form
  • Occitan: plural — word in plural form
  • Old English: maniġfeald — word in plural form
  • Persian: جمع (jam') — word in plural form
  • Middle Persian: ws — word in plural form
  • Polish: liczba mnoga — word in plural form
  • Portuguese: plural — word in plural form
  • Romanian: plural — word in plural form
  • Russian: мно́жественное число́ (mnóžestvennoje čisló) — word in plural form
  • Scottish Gaelic: iolra — word in plural form
  • Serbo-Croatian: множина — word in plural form
  • Serbo-Croatian: плурал — word in plural form
  • Serbo-Croatian: množina — word in plural form
  • Serbo-Croatian: plural — word in plural form
  • Slovak: množné číslo — word in plural form
  • Slovak: plurál — word in plural form
  • Slovene: množina — word in plural form
  • Spanish: plural — word in plural form
  • Swahili: wingi — word in plural form
  • Swedish: plural — word in plural form
  • Swedish: pluralis — word in plural form
  • Swedish: flertal — word in plural form
  • Tajik: ҷамъ (jam') — word in plural form
  • Tamil: பன்மை (paṉmai) — word in plural form
  • Telugu: బహువచనము (bahuvacanamu) — word in plural form
  • Thai: พหูพจน์ (pá-hǔu-pót) — word in plural form
  • Turkish: çoğul — word in plural form
  • Turkish: çokluk — word in plural form
  • Ukrainian: множина́ (množyná) — word in plural form
  • Vietnamese: số nhiều — word in plural form
  • Volapük: plunum — word in plural form
  • Walloon: pluriyal — word in plural form
Real reading context

plural in complete knowledge articles