Create an array of arrays, building a multidimentional array with an array

multidimentional-array.php

<?php
/*
  The important thing here is having 2x empty arrays.
  The first array is the parent - level 1 array
  The second array is the child - level 2 array
*/
$examples = array(
  'item 1',
  'item 2',
  'item 3',
  'item 4',
  'item 5',
);

$total_child_el = 3;

$parent_array = array();
foreach ( $examples as $example ) {
  
  $child_array = array();
  for ($i=0, $i < $total_child_el, $i++) {
    $child_array[] = $example;
  }
  
  $parent_array[] = $child_array;
}

// OUTPUT
array(
	array('item 1','item 1','item 1'),
	array('item 2','item 2','item 2'),
	array('item 3','item 3','item 3'),
	array('item 4','item 4','item 4'),
	array('item 5','item 5','item 5')
);