Meaning of many in English

many

determiner, pronoun

/ˈmen.i/ uk

/ˈmen.i/

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used mainly in negative sentences and questions and with "too," "so," and "as" to mean "a large number of":

I don't have many clothes.

Not many people have heard of him.

There aren't very many weekends between now and Christmas.

Were there many cars on the road?

How many students are there in each class?

Many people would disagree with your ideas.

Rachel was at the party with her many admirers.

I've met him so many times and I still can't remember his name!

There are too many people chasing too few jobs.

If there are only five of us going to the concert, then I've booked one too many seats.

If there were as many women as there are men in Congress, the situation would be very different.

As many as (= the surprisingly large number of) 6,000 people may have been infected with the disease.

There are already twelve bottles of wine, so if I buy as many again (= another twelve bottles) we'll have enough.

A good/great many people who voted for her in the last election will not be doing so this time.

She had five children in as many (= in the same number of) years and decided it was enough.

More examplesFewer examples

Mr Black has been a client of this firm for many years.
High prices are deterring many young people from buying houses.
How many people does your company employ?
There are too many silly quiz shows on television these days.
The school has students from many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Masses and large amounts of things

See more results »

Grammar

Many

We use many to refer to a large number of something countable. We most commonly use it in questions and in negative sentences: …

Much, many, a lot of, lots of: quantifiers

We use the quantifiers much, many, a lot of, lots of to talk about quantities, amounts and degree. We can use them with a noun (as a determiner) or without a noun (as a pronoun). …

Much, many with a noun

We use much with singular uncountable nouns and many with plural nouns: …

A lot of, lots of with a noun

We use a lot of and lots of in informal styles. Lots of is more informal than a lot of. A lot of and lots of can both be used with plural countable nouns and with singular uncountable nouns for affirmatives, negatives, and questions: …

Much, many, a lot of, lots of: negative questions

When we use much and many in negative questions, we are usually expecting that a large quantity of something isn’t there. When we use a lot of and lots of in negative questions, we are usually expecting a large quantity of something. …

Much, many, a lot, lots: without a noun

We usually leave out the noun after much, many and a lot, lots when the noun is obvious: …

Much with comparative adjectives and adverbs: much older, much faster

We can use much before comparative adjectives and adverbs to make a stronger comparison: …

Too much, too many and so much, so many

We often use too before much and many. It means ‘more than necessary’. We can use too much before an uncountable noun and too many before a plural noun, or without a noun when the noun is obvious: …

As much as, as many as

When we want to make comparisons connected with quantity, we use as much as and as many as: …

Much, many and a lot of, lots of: typical errors

We use much with uncountable nouns and many with countable nouns: …

Idioms

in so many words
many a time
many happy returns (of the day)
many's the
one too many

(Definition of many from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

many | Intermediate English

many

adjective, pronoun

/ˈmen·i/

comparative more | superlative most

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a large number (of), or a lot (of):

Many people bought tickets for the concert.

Rachel has so many friends that I couldn’t invite them all.

How many years have you worked here?

Not everyone could get a seat, and many (of the people) were unhappy with having to stand.

Note:

Many is used with countable nouns.

(Definition of many from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

What is the pronunciation of many?

Translations of many

in Chinese (Traditional)

許多（主要用於否定句和疑問句中，或者帶有「too」、「so」和「as」等的句子中）…

in Chinese (Simplified)

许多（主要用于否定句和疑问句中，或者带有“too”、“so” 和“as” 等词的句子中）…

in Spanish

muchos, muchos/as, muchos/as [masculine-feminine…

in Portuguese

muitos, muitas, demasiados…

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in Italian

खूप…

たくさん, たくさんの…

birçok, çok, çok … (-li)…

beaucoup de, beaucoup, beaucoup (de)…

molts…

veel, veel-…

முக்கியமாக எதிர்மறை வாக்கியங்கள் மற்றும் கேள்விகளில் மற்றும் "மிகவும்", "எனவே" மற்றும் "என" "அதிக எண்ணிக்கையிலான"என்று பொருள்படும் வகையில் பயன்படுத்தப்படுகிறது…

कई, बहुत, कितने…

ઘણા, અનેક…

mange, mange-…

många, mång-…

banyak…

viele, viel-……