many

/ˈmɛni/

/ˈmɛni/

If you have a great number of refrigerator magnets, you have many of them. Many means "a lot of items."

Many can be traced back to the Welsh word mynych meaning "frequent." To get many of something, you do something frequently, or often, like having many miles on a car because you often drive it long distances. If you ask, "How many people will be at the party?" you want to know the number of guests who are expected. If the answer is "many," you know there will be numerous people, though you haven't been given an exact figure.

Definitions of many

1. pronoun

   a large number of the persons or things being discussed, as in "The car has a lot of problems, and many need fixing right away"
2. noun

   a large number of persons or things, as in "Many canceled at the last minute" or "We looked everywhere, but many were missing"
3. adjective

   a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `as' or `too' or `so' or `that'; amounting to a large but indefinite number
   “many temptations”

   “the temptations are many”

   “a good many”

   “a great many”

   “many directions”

   “take as many apples as you like”

   “too many clouds to see”

   “never saw so many people”

   synonyms:

   galore

   in great numbers

   many a, many an, many another

   each of a large indefinite number

   legion, numerous

   amounting to a large indefinite number

   some

   relatively many but unspecified in number

   umpteen, umteen

   innumerable but many

   more

   (comparative of `many' used with count nouns) quantifier meaning greater in number

   some

   quantifier; used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity

   antonyms:

   few

   a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `a'; a small but indefinite number

   a couple of, a few

   more than one but indefinitely small in number

   hardly a

   very few

   fewer

   (comparative of `few' used with count nouns) quantifier meaning a smaller number of

   some

   quantifier; used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity