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

At a time when many residents of the greater Los Angeles area are already anxious and fearful about the blazes that have engulfed tens of thousands of acres and reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble, the erroneous message is likely to have caused panic and fear. —Denise Chow, NBC News, 10 Jan. 2025

Tens of thousands of Los Angeles area residents have been evacuated from their homes as the Palisades and Eaton fires spread rapidly across the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Topanga, Altadena and Pasadena communities. —Ari Plachta, Sacramento Bee, 9 Jan. 2025

Fire has broken out in large swaths of Los Angeles County since Tuesday morning, prompting the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Pasadena communities. —Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2025

At least five people have died, roughly 1,000 structures have been destroyed and tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate as multiple fires menace the L.A. area and encroach on its suburbs. —Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 9 Jan. 2025

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