many
/ˈmɛni
/determiner, pronoun, & adjective (more /mɔː/, most /məʊst/)
A large number of: [as determiner]: many people agreed with her [as pronoun]: the solution to many of our problems many think bungee jumping is a new craze [as adjective]: one of my many errors...
- These parties may win many of their votes on the race issue, but they win very few votes.
- Over the years, many of those who used to be members have died or live in care homes.
- Over the past few weeks he has appeared in many of the smaller venues where he started out.
Synonyms
numerous, a great/good deal of, a lot of, a large/great number of, great quantities of, plenty of, countless, innumerable, scores of, crowds of, droves of, an army of, a horde of, a multitude of, a multiplicity of, multitudinous, numberless, multiple, untold;
several, various, sundry, diverse, assorted, multifarious;
copious, abundant, profuse, an abundance of, a profusion of;
frequent
informal lots of, umpteen, loads of, masses of, stacks of, scads of, heaps of, piles of, bags of, tons of, oodles of, dozens of, hundreds of, thousands of, millions of, billions of, zillions of, more … than one can shake a stick at
British informal shedload
North American informal a slew of, gazillions of, bazillions of, gobs of
Australian/New Zealand informal a swag of
vulgar slang a shitload of
literary myriad, divers
noun (as plural noun the many)
The majority of people: music for the many...
- This is an incredible case of where the needs of the many are trampled on for the needs of the one.
- It would be done not only by the cheques of a few, but by the pence of the many, he said.
- Troy depicts a war fought for the gain of the few and paid for in the blood and tears of the many.
Synonyms
the people, the common people, the masses, the multitude, the majority, the populace, the public, the rank and file, the crowd, the commonalty, the commonality
derogatory the hoi polloi, the common herd, the mob, the proletariat, the rabble, the riff-raff, the great unwashed, the canaille, the proles, the plebs
Phrases
as many
a good (or great) many
have one too many
many a ——
many's the ——
Origin
Old English manig, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch menig and German manch.