[muhl-tuh-puh
l] 
| 1. | consisting of, having, or involving several or many individuals, parts, elements, relations, etc.; manifold. |
| 2. | Electricity.
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| 3. | Botany. (of a fruit) collective. |
| 4. | Mathematics. a number that contains another number an integral number of times without a remainder: 12 is a multiple of 3. |
| 5. | Electricity. a group of terminals arranged to make a circuit or group of circuits accessible at a number of points at any one of which connection can be made. |
| mul·ti·ple (mŭl'tə-pəl) adj. Having, relating to, or consisting of more than one individual, element, part, or other component; manifold. n. A number that may be divided by another number with no remainder: 4, 6, and 12 are multiples of 2. [French, from Old French, from Late Latin multiplum, a multiple : Latin multi-, multi- + Latin -plus, -fold; see pel-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
multiple
In stock-index futures, the number multiplied by the futures price to determine the value of the contract. For example, the $500 multiple of the Standard & Poor's Midcap Index is multiplied by the futures price to determine the value of one contract. Thus, a futures price of $230 would yield a contract value of $115,000 ($500 × $230).
See price-earnings ratio.