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

The festival is giving some local artists their first taste of performing in front of thousands of people. —J.m. Banks, Kansas City Star, 9 June 2024

The incident was the latest of several protests on campuses across the country by pro-Palestinian protesters in response to the war between Israel and Hamas and the killing of thousands of Palestinians caught in the cross fire. —Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2024

Spilling from them were thousands of parachutes, flitting across the sky like confetti. —Catherine Porter Andrea Mantovani, New York Times, 7 June 2024

Technological advancements, especially disruptive ones, have been part of the economic cycle for thousands of years. —Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 June 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