Multiple Explained

The word multiple can refer to:

• Multiples of numbers.
• Multiples, types of bet involving two or more selections.
• Dissociative identity disorder, for people with multiple personalities, sometimes called "multiples".
• Multiple birth, because having twins is sometimes called having "multiples".
• Multiple Man, a mutant superhero in the Marvel Comics universe.
• Multiple (sociology) (also used in plural as Multiples (sociology)), a theory in sociology of science by Robert K. Merton.
• Multiple finance, a method used to analyze stock prices.
• Printmaking - where multiple is often used as a term for a print, especially in the US.

It is also a singular of multiples, which can refer to:

• Multiples, a 2005 music album by Keith Fullerton Whitman.

However, multiple is frequently abused today to group non-similar entities, for which use many, numerous, or several would make a better choice. In short, whenever somebody says multiple, you should be able to substitute a word like double or triple and still have a sentence that makes sense. For example, "The defendant faces several counts" but "The plaintiff was awarded multiple damages."

See also

• Multiplicity (disambiguation)