How to understand "add the first number to itself"

Question

If you multiply one number by another, you add the first number to itself as many times as is indicated by the second number. For example 2 multiplied by 3 is equal to 6. (Collins Dictionary)

2*3=
First time (of adding): 2+2=4
Second time: 4+2=6
Third time: 6+2=8
then the result is 8?

What did I miss?

@MichaelHarvey How about this: You add the first number to itself one time less than what is indicated by the second number. — ForOU, Dec 12 '22 at 11:56
Congrats, you've found a mistake in a major dictionary! I've reported it to them. — gotube, Dec 12 '22 at 16:45
@ForOU Just got a form letter thanking me. I'll let you know if anything else happens. — gotube, Dec 13 '22 at 09:06

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 12 '22 at 10:29

It's a malformed (wrongly simplified) definition of multiplication.

add the first number to itself: 2 + 2 = 4
add the first number to itself: 2 + 2 = 4
add the first number to itself: 2 + 2 = 4

It makes no sense.

You add the first number to the result of the previous step (if none, to 0) as many times as is indicated by the second number.

add the first number to 0: 2 + 0 = 2
add the first number to the result of the previous step: 2 + 2 = 4
add the first number to the result of the previous step: 2 + 4 = 6

My definition might not be perfectly mathematical, but, at least, it can be logically followed.

Does it show how English grads don't understand numbers? – Michael Harvey Dec 12 '22 at 11:30 — Michael Harvey, Dec 12 '22 at 11:30

How to understand "add the first number to itself"

1 Answers1