man·y (m?n??)adj. more (môr), most (m?st) 1. Amounting to or consisting of a large indefinite number: many friends.2. Being one of a large indefinite number; numerous: many a child; many another day.n. (used with a pl. verb)1. The majority of the people; the masses: “The many fail, the one succeeds” (Tennyson).2. A large indefinite number: A good many of the workers had the flu.pron. (used with a pl. verb) A large number of persons or things: “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14).Idiom: as many The same number of: moved three times in as many years.[Middle English, from Old English manig; see menegh- in Indo-European roots.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.many (?m?n?) determiner1. a. a large number of: many coaches; many times. b. (as pronoun; functioning as plural): many are seated already. 2. (foll by: a, an, or another, and a singular noun) each of a considerable number of: many a man. 3. a. a great number of: as many apples as you like; too many clouds to see. b. (as pronoun; functioning as plural): I have as many as you. nthe many the majority of mankind, esp the common people: the many are kept in ignorance while the few prosper. Compare few7[Old English manig; related to Old Frisian manich, Middle Dutch menech, Old High German manag]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014man?y (?m?n i) adj. more, most, n., pron. adj. 1. constituting or forming a large number; numerous: many people. 2. noting each one of a large number (usu. fol. by a or an): For many a day it rained. n. 3. a large or considerable number of persons or things: A good many of the beggars were blind. 4. the many, the greater part of humankind. pron. 5. many persons or things: Many were unable to attend. Idioms: many a time, again and again; frequently. [before 900; Old English manig, menig, c. Old High German manag, menig, Old Norse mangr] syn: many, numerous, innumerable, manifold imply the presence of a large number of units. many is a general word that refers to a large but indefinite number of units or individuals: many years ago; many friends and supporters. numerous, a more formal word, stresses the individual and separate quality of the units: to receive numerous letters. innumerable denotes a number that is too large to be counted or, more loosely, that is very difficult to count: the innumerable stars. manifold implies that the number is large, but also varied or complex: manifold responsibilities. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.Many a large number; a company; multitude of people: the many, 1688.Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.many1. ‘many’ used in front of a plural nounYou use many immediately in front of the plural form of a noun to talk about a large number of people or things.In positive statements, ‘many’ is slightly formal, and a lot of is often used instead.In questions and negative statements, many is usually used rather than ‘a lot of’.To refer to a large number of the people or things in a particular group, you use many of in front of a plural pronoun, or in front of a plural noun phrase beginning with the, these, those, or a possessive such as my or their.Many is sometimes used as a pronoun to refer to a large group of people or things. This is a fairly formal use.Be Careful!Don’t use ‘many’ or ‘many of’ before an uncountable noun, to talk about a large quantity or amount of something. Use much or much of.You can use many with more to emphasize the difference in size between two groups of people or things.