thousand

noun

thou·​sand ˈthau̇-zᵊn(d) 

plural thousands or thousand

1

: a number equal to 10 times 100 see Table of Numbers

2

: a very large number

thousands of ants

thousand adjective

thousandfold

ˈthau̇-zᵊn(d)-ˌfōld 

adjective or adverb

thousandth

ˈthau̇-zᵊn(t)th 

adjective or noun

Examples of thousand in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As a result, Ballad Health expects that thousands of patients will be safer from adverse drug events. —Gil Press, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024

Tens of thousands have fled as the military has ordered a complete evacuation and allowed almost no humanitarian aid to enter. —Wafaa Shurafa and Tia Goldenberg, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2024

The crisis targeted potentially thousands of people at their most vulnerable, many of them Native Americans who were far from home. —Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Republic, 21 Dec. 2024

Pagans still come by the thousands to Stonehenge, the prehistoric ruins of a monument built from around 3100 to 1600 BC. —Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 21 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English thūsend; akin to Old High German dūsunt thousand, Lithuanian tūkstantis, and probably to Sanskrit tavas strong, Latin tumēre to swell — more at thumb entry 1

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing thousand

• a picture is worth a thousand words
• bat a thousand
• never/not in a thousand/million/billion years
• thousand-legger

Kids Definition

thousand

noun

thou·​sand ˈthau̇z-ᵊn(d) 

plural thousands or thousand

1

: a number equal to 10 times 100 see number

2

: a very large number

thousands of ants

thousand adjective