When you multiply a number by another number, the second number is the multiplier.
[technical]
Were the government to use a multiplier of five instead of three, the proportionof the population below the poverty line would rise to more than 24 percent.
multiplier in British English
(ˈmʌltɪˌplaɪə)
noun
1.
a person or thing that multiplies
2.
the number by which another number, the multiplicand, is multiplied
See also multiplicand
3. physics
any device or instrument, such as a photomultiplier, for increasing an effect
4. economics
a.
the ratio of the total change in income (resulting from successive rounds of spending) to an initial autonomous change in expenditure
b.
(as modifier)
multiplier effects
multiplier in American English
(ˈmʌltəˌplaɪər)
noun
1.
a person or thing that multiplies or increases
2. Economics
the ratio between the total increase in income resulting from the stimulating effect of an initial expenditure and the initial expenditure itself
3. Ancient Mathematics
the number by which another number (the multiplicand) is, or is to be, multiplied
4. Physics
any device for multiplying, or intensifying, some effect