Doing several different tasks or activities at the same time, often by switching between them rapidly.
From 'multi-' (Latin for 'many') plus 'task' (from Old French 'tasque') plus '-ing' (present participle). This is a modern compound word coined in the 1960s to describe computer processors handling multiple operations.
Research shows your brain can't actually multitask—it just rapidly switches focus, and each switch costs time and accuracy, so 'multitasking' people often do worse than those who focus on one thing at a time.
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