multitude
Americannoun
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a great number; host.
a multitude of friends.
-
a great number of people gathered together; crowd; throng.
- Synonyms:
- mass
-
the state or character of being many; numerousness.
-
the multitude, the common people; the masses.
noun
-
a large gathering of people
-
the common people
-
a large number
-
the state or quality of being numerous
Synonym Usage
See crowd 1.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of multitude
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English word from Latin word multitūdō. See multi-, -tude
Explanation
A multitude is a very large number or a huge crowd. If you see a multitude of zombies approaching, you're in trouble. Sometimes the word multitude refers to the common people, or the masses — that is, everyone in a society apart from the political elite. There are a lot of words and phrases for this, like hoi polloi, which is Greek for "the many," and "the great unwashed." Those last two terms are usually used in a disapproving way, but multitudes is generally a positive term. If you were to say that a leader inspired the multitudes to rise up against their oppressor, we'd assume that you sympathized with the multitudes.
Vocabulary lists containing multitude
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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A multitude of nations were represented in this local hostelry.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
He believes that successful software companies will need to create a “combined data universe from all the multitude of enterprise apps on the client side.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
That sense of complexity fuels Vecna, the antagonist of “Stranger Things,” whose climactic final season sees the character, played by Jamie Campbell Bower, take on a multitude of faces — some human and some grotesque.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
The average teenager has never left the country or experienced heartbreak any more acute than the burn of their first breakup, soon to be forgotten by a multitude of other casual flings and serious partners.
From Salon ● May 30, 2026
“Bear Stearns has been the subject of a multitude of rumors concerning our liquidity,” it began.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
What’s more, you are also donating to a food bank to put food into the backpacks of multitudes of children.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 20, 2026
Charlie contained multitudes, and I took some satisfaction from the eulogies noticing that fact.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Among the many tasks: managing ever-multiplying multitudes of cattle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026
In response to her complaints, the filing says, the company "retaliated against her, demonetizing her X account and generating multitudes more images of her".
From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2026
Do I have the right to represent the multitudes who have perished?
From "Night" by Elie Wiesel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.