proliferate C1 Topic:Cause, Change & Process US /pɹəˈlɪf.əɹ.eɪt/ See IPA manual Freq #68732 Meanings 1 verb To increase quickly in number and spread widely. Coffee shops have proliferated across the city in the past few years. 2 verb To cause something to grow or multiply rapidly. World leaders are working hard not to proliferate nuclear weapons. Thesaurus Word family Forms proliferatedproliferatesproliferating Etymology AI details Back-formation from proliferation. Topics Cause, Change & Process Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # proliferate **Type:** Word **Level:** C1 **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /pɹəˈlɪf.əɹ.eɪt/ **Frequency rank:** 68732 ## Meanings 1. To increase quickly in number and spread widely. 2. To cause something to grow or multiply rapidly. ## Examples - Coffee shops have proliferated across the city in the past few years. - World leaders are working hard not to proliferate nuclear weapons. ## Etymology Back-formation from proliferation. ## AI Etymology Proliferate is traced through back-formation from proliferation. In present-day use, it can mean to increase quickly in number and spread widely, or to cause something to grow or multiply rapidly. ## Topics - Cause, Change & Process - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown