See Also:

many (oh)



[Language: Old English; Origin: manig]
a large number of people or things
-opposite few few
-see also more more, most most, much much
::Many people have to use a car to travel to work.
::I don't have many friends.
::My mother has lived in Spain for many years.
::Do you get many visitors?
::Some of the houses have bathrooms but many do not.
::His third novel is regarded by many (=a lot of people) as his best.
many of
::Many of our staff work part-time.
::There are plenty of cafes and bars, many of them serving excellent food.
::There are so many things we disagree about.
:: Not many (=only a few) people can afford my services.
::You've been reading too many romantic novels (=more than you should) .
::One job loss is one too many (=one more than is acceptable, needed etc) .
the many people/things etc
::We should like to thank the many people who have written to us offering their support.
many hundreds/thousands/millions
::military equipment worth many millions of dollars
a great many/a good many/very many
(=a very large number)
::Most of the young men went off to the war, and a great many never came back.
::It all happened a good many years ago.
how many
used to ask or talk about how large a number or quantity is
::How many sisters do you have?
::I didn't know how many tickets to buy.
as many
a number that is equal to another number
::They say the people of Los Angeles speak 12 languages and teach just as many in the schools.
as many (...) as
::Grandfather claimed to have as many medals as the general.
::There weren't as many people at the meeting as we had hoped.
in as many days/weeks/games etc
::A great trip! We visited five countries in as many days (=in five days) .
twice/three times etc as many
::The company now employs four times as many women as men.
as many as 50/1000 etc
used to emphasize how surprisingly large a number is
::As many as 10,000 civilians are thought to have fled the area.
many a sth
formal or
old-fashioned a large number of people or things
::Many a parent has had to go through this same painful process.
::I've sat here many a time (=often) and wondered what happened to her.
many's the time/day etc (that/when)
old-fashioned used to say that a particular thing has happened often
::Many's the time we've had to borrow money in order to get through the month.
have had one too many
informal to be drunk
::Don't pay any attention to him - he's had one too many.
many thanks
written used especially in formal letters to thank someone for something
many thanks for
::Many thanks for your letter of 17 March.
the many
formal a very large group of people, especially the public in general
::This war is another example of the few sacrificing their lives for the many.
-see also in as many words at word 1
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GRAMMAR
Many is used mainly in questions and negative sentences : Were there many people at the party? | There weren't many people at the party.
In other sentences, phrases like a lot of and plenty of are used instead : Slovakia has a lot of small towns (NOT Slovakia has many small towns).
However, many can be used in formal English : Many politicians expressed concern about the high level of defence spending.
Many can also be used after too , so , and as : There are too many mistakes in this work. | I didn't realize I had so many friends. | Bring as many people as you want.
!! Do not use 'and' after many and before an adjective : There are not many interesting Sunday newspapers (NOT There are not many and interesting Sunday newspapers).