/'mʌltɪplaɪ; ,mʌltə`plaɪ/
v (pt, pp -lied)
1 [I, Tn, Tn.pr, Tn.p] ~ A by B/~ A and B (together) add a number to itself a particular number of times 乘
*children learning to multiply and divide 学习乘法和除法的儿童 *
2 and
3 multiply to make 6, ie
2 x
3 =
2 +
2 +
2 = 6. 2和3相乘得6. *
2 multiplied by
4 makes 8, ie
2 x
4 = 8. 2乘以4得8.
* One can make
12 by multiplying
2 and
6 (together) or
4 and
3 (together), ie
12 =
2 x
6 or
4 x 3. 以2、6或4、3相乘可得12.
2 [I, Tn] increase (sth) in number or quantity 增多, 增加（某事物）
*Our problems have multiplied since last year. 自去年以来我们的问题增多了.
* Buy lots of raffle tickets and multiply your chances of success. 多买彩票, 增加你中奖的机会.
3 [I, Tn] (biology 生) (cause sb/sth to) produce large numbers of offspring by procreation, fertilization, etc （使某人[某物]）繁殖, 增殖
*Rabbits multiply rapidly. 兔子繁殖得很快.
* It is possible to multiply bacteria and other living organisms in the laboratory. 在实验室能够繁殖细菌和其他生物.

v past tense and past participlemultipliedpresent participlemultiplyingthird person singularmultiplies
[Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old French;Origin: multiplier, from Latin multiplicare, from multiplex; MULTIPLEX]
[I and T]
to do a calculation in which you add a number to itself a particular number of times
→divide
　Children will learn to multiply in the second grade.
multiply sth by sth
　Multiply the total by 12.
[I and T]
to increase by a large amount or number, or to make something do this
　The amount of information available has multiplied.
　Smoking multiplies the risk of heart attacks and other health problems.
[I]
to breed
　Bacteria multiply quickly in warm food.