What does multitude mean?
Word: Multitude
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Multitude means a very large number of people or things.
Synonyms: host, crowd
Word origin: From Latin multitudo, through Old French; used in English since the 1300s.
How do you spell multitude?
Syllables: mul - ti - tude
Tricky part: The ending is tude, with a u and a silent e: students write multitood or multitued because of how it sounds.
Watch out for: multitood, multitued, multetude
Memory tip: Say multitude, altitude and attitude one after another: they rhyme, and their last parts are spelt alike too.
Idioms and Phrases
- cover a multitude of sins: to hide a lot of faults or problems Example: "A fresh coat of paint covered a multitude of sins on the old classroom walls."
Multitude in a sentence
Example 1: A multitude of kites filled the sky over Ahmedabad during Uttarayan.
Example 2: The book answers a multitude of questions about space.
Example 3: Scientists have found a multitude of tiny creatures in a single drop of pond water.
Fun Fact
In 1610, Galileo reported that his telescope showed the Milky Way to be a multitude of separate stars, too faint to see one by one with the naked eye.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Probe
Find the misspelt word in the sentence and choose its meaning:
A multitude of fireflies lit up the paddy fields at dusk, and my cousins from the city watched in astonishmant.
a) small insects that give off light at night
b) flooded fields where rice is grown
c) the time just before it gets dark
d) great surprise
Show answer
d) great surprise. Astonishment ends in ment, like amazement; multitude, fireflies and paddy are correct.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with a word of similar meaning:
1. multitude 2. fragment 3. summit a. peak b. piece c. throng
a) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
b) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
c) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
d) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
Show answer
b) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a. A multitude is a throng, a fragment is a small piece, and a summit is a peak.
Jumble Tumble
Which order of the numbered letters spells a meaningful word?
123456789 tudmeilut
a) 472169835
b) 538961724
c) 427196835
d) 427169835
Show answer
d) 427169835. Reading the letters as 4, 2, 7, 1, 6, 9, 8, 3, 5 spells multitude.
Back to the Roots
Choose the word that shares the root:
Multitude comes from a Latin word meaning many. Which other English word grew from the same Latin root?
a) mutter
b) mulberry
c) mule
d) multiply
Show answer
d) multiply. Multiply also goes back to Latin multus, many; mutter, mule and mulberry come from quite different sources.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Where would you best see a multitude of stars?
a) in a dark desert far from city lights
b) at a busy railway station at noon
c) in a brightly lit shopping mall
d) in a classroom with the lights on
Show answer
a) in a dark desert far from city lights
2. 'A multitude of devotees gathered at the Kumbh Mela.' The sentence tells us that ___.
a) a very large number of people came
b) the fair was called off
c) only a few people came
d) the devotees came one by one
Show answer
a) a very large number of people came
