moltiplicare

to multiply

verb mol-tee-plee-KAH-reh Less Common

Origin: Latin multiplicare

Also means

to increase greatly

Usage Note

Moltiplicare takes avere as its auxiliary. In arithmetic, tre per quattro fa dodici (three times four is twelve) is more colloquial, but moltiplicare tre per quattro is used in formal or educational contexts. The reflexive moltiplicarsi means 'to multiply' in the biological or figurative sense (e.g. problems multiplying).

Examples

"Dobbiamo moltiplicare il numero per due."

Natural Translation

We must multiply the number by two.

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