Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: French
Origin: Latin multitudo, from multus; MULTI-

multitude

 noun
     
mul‧ti‧tude [countable]
1

a multitude of somebody/something

formal or literary a very large number of people or things:
I had never seen such a multitude of stars before.
a multitude of possible interpretations
2

the multitude(s)

ordinary people, especially when they are thought of as not being very well educated:
Political power has been placed in the hands of the multitude.
3 literary or biblical a large crowd of people:
Clamoring multitudes demanded a view of the Pope.
4

cover/hide a multitude of sins

to make faults or problems seem less clear or noticeable - used humorously:
Patterned carpet can hide a multitude of sins (=the carpet is dirty, but the pattern hides it).
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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