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

But at the same time, there are efforts in Congress to scuttle the program, even though thousands of other vets, like Conlon, still need the help. —Quil Lawrence, NPR, 22 Mar. 2025

At night, after the final whistle was blown, thousands of jubilant fans poured into the streets, heading toward the city’s bars to continue the debauchery, sometimes till dawn. —Andrew McNicol, CNN, 22 Mar. 2025

In Springfield, lawmakers advanced a homeschool regulation bill despite thousands of protesters voicing their opposition to the plan at the statehouse. —Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2025

In the weeks since Claude Plays Pokémon was first made public, thousands of Twitch viewers have watched Claude struggle to make consistent progress in the game. —Ars Technica, 21 Mar. 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