multiplication

noun

mul·​ti·​pli·​ca·​tion ˌməl-tə-plə-ˈkā-shən 

1

: the act or process of multiplying : the state of being multiplied

2

a

: a mathematical operation that at its simplest is an abbreviated process of adding an integer to zero a specified number of times and that is extended to other numbers in accordance with laws that are valid for integers

b

: any of various mathematical operations that are analogous in some way to multiplication of the real numbers but are defined for other or larger sets of elements (such as complex numbers, vectors, matrices, or functions)

Synonyms

• accumulating
• accumulation
• addition
• increase
• mushrooming
• proliferation

Examples of multiplication in a Sentence

Students are learning multiplication and division.

a disease causing uncontrolled multiplication of cells

an uncontrolled multiplication of cells

Recent Examples on the Web

Each die contains a central cache memory of 48 megabytes, surrounded by four matrix multiplication engines and 32 programmable tensor processor cores, bringing the total cores to 64. —Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 11 Apr. 2024

But undoing multiplication, or factoring, is very hard if the numbers are large. —Kelsey Houston-Edwards, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2024

But global popularity has a downside: besides creating unrealistic expectations, there’s a risk that the multiplication of goals obscures the spiritual heart of his enterprise. —Victor Gaetan, Foreign Affairs, 25 Sep. 2015

New hardware could natively represent each parameter as a -1 or 1 (or 0), and then simply add and subtract values and avoid multiplication. —IEEE Spectrum, 30 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English multiplicacioun, from Anglo-French multiplicacion, from Latin multiplication-, multiplicatio, from multiplicare to multiply

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing multiplication

• multiplication sign
• multiplication table

Kids Definition

multiplication

noun

mul·​ti·​pli·​ca·​tion ˌməl-tə-plə-ˈkā-shən 

1

: the act or process of multiplying

2

: a mathematical operation that takes two numbers and gives an answer equal to the sum of a column containing one of the numbers repeated the number of times of the other number

the multiplication of 8 and 3 is the same as the sum of 8+8+8