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

Recruiting departments are chaotic because of thousands of highlight tapes, unverifiable claims, and more. —Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2025

Despite his years on stage in front of thousands of people playing with The Beatles, Lennon was reportedly nervous to go it alone. —Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025

On a broader avenue, people stood on the sidewalks, cheering and mourning and taking pictures with their smartphones—thousands of real-time, utterly personal interpretations of the Pope’s final symbolic journey. —Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 27 Apr. 2025

Instead, his body was level with the thousands who passed by it on foot to pay their respects. —Alan Yuhas, New York Times, 27 Apr. 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