Multiple Meaning
Multiple Definition & Usage
Existing or occurring in great quantity or variety; numerous.
Examples
- "The company offers multiple options for customer support."
- "There are multiple ways to solve this problem."
- "The concert featured multiple performers, each with their own style."
- "I have multiple tasks to complete before the deadline."
- "She found multiple reasons to justify her decision."
Relating to a number or factor that is a multiple of another.
Examples
- "Six is a multiple of three."
- "The students were asked to list the multiples of 12."
- "Multiples of two are all even numbers."
- "We need to calculate multiples of ten in this equation."
- "You can find multiples of five by skipping every fourth number."
A number of identical or similar things grouped together.
Examples
- "The restaurant offers a range of meal multiples for different appetites."
- "There are several multiples of the same book in the library."
- "The scientist examined various multiples of the same experiment."
- "The teacher gave the students multiples of worksheets to practice."
- "We received multiples of the same question during the interview."
Cultural Context
The word 'multiple' comes from the Latin 'multiplicare,' meaning 'to multiply.' Over time, it has evolved to describe not just multiplication but the presence of more than one thing or variety in different contexts, from mathematics to everyday language. 'Multiple' is frequently used in various disciplines, including business, science, and education, to describe anything that involves several entities, choices, or iterations.
The Many Layers of Multiple
Story
The Many Layers of Multiple
One brisk autumn afternoon, Sarah sat in a busy coffee shop, notebook in hand, as she prepared for the upcoming conference. Her schedule for the next few days was already packed with multiple tasks, from meetings to presentations. The overwhelming number of things to do made her wish she could clone herself. As she stared at her laptop, Sarah's friend Mark walked in, holding a stack of multiple books from the library. "You wouldn't believe the amount of material we need to read for this project," Mark said, placing the books on the table. "I found multiple sources for our research, but I’m sure we can narrow it down." Sarah smiled, grateful for his help. As they sat together discussing their strategies for the conference, the topic shifted to the various multiple ways to approach a problem. Sarah shared a method that she often used, one that involved breaking down complex issues into smaller, manageable multiples. Later, Sarah glanced at the clock. Her presentation was in just an hour, and she was still finalizing her slides. She opened the file, and sure enough, there were multiple versions of the slide deck saved on her computer. It was easy to lose track of the number of drafts she had created, each offering a slightly different approach. Her presentation on managing multiple priorities had evolved in so many ways, but now she had to choose which version to present. In the middle of their conversation, Mark’s phone buzzed. It was a reminder for his math class, where they had been studying multiples of numbers. "I think I’ll get some coffee before class. I’ve been dealing with multiples of math problems all day!" he laughed. The two friends spent the rest of the afternoon discussing how multiple factors influenced their work and personal lives, from how they balanced priorities to the ways they managed their time. Despite the challenges of juggling multiple tasks and projects, Sarah knew that these moments of conversation and support made the workload easier to manage. As Sarah left the coffee shop, she realized that in her world, 'multiple' wasn't just a word—it was a way of life. Whether dealing with multiple tasks, multiple perspectives, or even the multiple choices in the books and research materials they had discussed, it was the essence of complexity in her everyday routine.
Related Words
