Multiplying by a negative is repeated subtraction. When we multiply a negative number times a negative number, we are getting less negative.

What happens when a negative number is multiplied?

When you multiply two negative numbers together, though, the first one flips the sign from positive to negative, and the second one flips it back. In other words, negative numbers cancel each other out: when you multiply a negative number by a negative number, you get a positive number.

Why does multiplying 2 negative numbers equal a positive?

Each number has an "additive inverse" associated to it (a sort of "opposite" number), which when added to the original number gives zero. ... The fact that the product of two negatives is a positive is therefore related to the fact that the inverse of the inverse of a positive number is that positive number back again.