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

Under his direction, thousands of federal employees have been let go or put on leave. —Ellise Shafer, Variety, 10 Mar. 2025

Prior to the Biden reform to pare clawbacks to 10% of a person's benefit check, some Americans had encountered financial hardship after receiving shock bills amounting to thousands of dollars. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 10 Mar. 2025

Hundreds of employees recently lost their jobs, and thousands are at risk. —William Lambers, Newsweek, 10 Mar. 2025

Argentine authorities say China’s distant-water fishing fleet routinely travels thousands of miles in search of commercially valuable fish species. —Avery Schmitz, CNN, 10 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