Abstract Multipartite entanglement is an essential aspect of quantum systems, needed to execute quantum algorithms, implement error correction and achieve quantum-enhanced sensing. In solid-state quantum registers such as nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond, entangled states are typically created using sequential, pairwise gates between the central electron and individual nuclear qubits. This sequential approach is slow and suffers from crosstalk errors. Here we demonstrate a parallelized multi-qubit entangling gate to generate a four-qubit Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger state using a room-temperature nitrogen-vacancy centre in only 14.8 μs—ten times faster than that using sequences of two-qubit gates and close to the fundamental limit set by the hyperfine coupling frequencies. Parallel three-qubit gates are also realized with all-nuclear-qubit subsets. The entangled states are verified by measuring multiple quantum coherences. The four-qubit parallel gate has a fidelity of 0.92(4), whereas the sequential four-qubit gate fidelity is only 0.69(3). The approach is generalizable to other solid-state platforms, and it lays the foundation for scalable generation and control of entanglement in practical devices.