multitude
- 01 C1 Advanced
a very large number of things or people.
a great number or an indefinite large quantity of something. Often used in the phrase 'a multitude of'.
Simple“The new law created a multitude of problems for small business owners.”
In context“The researcher faced a multitude of logistical challenges while attempting to coordinate the international study across four different time zones.”
UsageCommonly functions as a countable noun followed by the preposition 'of'.
- 02 C1 Advanced
a large group of people, or the general public.
the mass of ordinary people; the populace. Usually preceded by the definite article.
Simple“The leader spoke from the balcony to the gathered multitude below.”
In context“The philosopher argued that the needs of the multitude should always outweigh the desires of the ruling elite.”
UsageUsually appears as 'the multitude' in a singular form to represent a collective group.
Antonyms
“But there are a multitude of other cosmic coincidences that may be equally necessary for life to develop and survive.”
“Journal editors ask university professors to write reviews alongside a multitude of other professional responsibilities, and those requests often come at a quick clip.”
From Middle English multitude, multitud, multytude (“(great) amount or number of people or things; multitudinous”), borrowed from Old French multitude (“crowd of people; diversity, wide range”), or directly from its etymon Latin multitūdō (“great amount or number of people or things”), from multus (“many; much”) + -tūdō (suffix forming abstract nouns indicating a state or condition). The English word is analysable as multi- + -itude.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.