multiplies

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of multiply.

   The accountant multiplies each subtotal by the tax rate before adding them up.

   Under ideal conditions, the yeast culture multiplies every twenty minutes.

   Note

   The -ies ending follows the usual rule for a consonant plus y: the y becomes i before -es, as in carries and supplies. The form works both ways the verb does. With an object it means doing the arithmetic or increasing something (she multiplies the cost by three). Without one it means growing in number, as when a colony multiplies on its own.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of multiply.

   The processor performs millions of multiplies each second.

   Reordering the loop reduced the number of multiplies the code had to perform.

   Note

   Here the act of multiplying becomes something you can count: three multiplies, millions of multiplies, fewer multiplies after a rewrite. The spelling is shared with the present-tense verb, so let the neighboring words decide. A number, an article or a word like several in front signals the noun, while a subject such as she or the culture signals the verb.

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