ENGLISH
REFERENCE

multitude

n. countable
C1 Advanced US //ˈməɫtəˌtud// UK //mˈʌltɪtjˌuːd// mul·ti·tude

n. a very large number of people or things. You use this word when you want to emphasize that there are so many of something that it is hard to count them all.

n. a large number of people or things; a great gathering or crowd. Often used in the singular with 'of' to emphasize variety or sheer volume.


SIMPLE

The library offers a multitude of books on every subject.

CONTEXTUAL

The new law will affect a multitude of small businesses across the country.

COMPLEX

The scientist spent decades researching a multitude of factors that contribute to climate change, eventually synthesizing them into a single comprehensive theory.

Synonyms
Origin

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.

Usage

Usually appears in the singular form followed by 'of' and a plural noun ('a multitude of reasons').

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