- many
- man|yW1S1 [ˈmeni] determiner, pron, adj[: Old English; Origin: manig]1.) a large number of people or things≠ ↑few▪ 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 dollarsa 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.2.) how manyused 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.3.) as manya 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.4.) as many as 50/1000 etcused to emphasize how surprisingly large a number is▪ As many as 10,000 civilians are thought to have fled the area.5.) many a sthformal orold-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.6.) 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.7.) have had one too many informalto be drunk▪ Don't pay any attention to him - he's had one too many.8.) many thankswritten used especially in formal letters to thank someone for somethingmany thanks for▪ Many thanks for your letter of 17 March.9.) the manyformal 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.▬▬▬▬▬▬▬GRAMMARMany 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).▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.