million

noun

mil·​lion ˈmi(l)-yən 

plural millions or million

1

: a number equal to 1,000 times 1,000 see Table of Numbers

2

: a very large number

millions of cars on the road

3

: the mass of common people

—used with the

million adjective

millionfold

ˈmi(l)-yən-ˌfōld 

adverb or adjective

millionth

ˈmi(l)-yən(t)th 

adjective or noun

Synonyms of million

• people
• populace
• public
• crowd
• mass

Examples of million in a Sentence

intellectuals sneered that television was a medium clearly aimed at the millions

Recent Examples on the Web

By the following year, the FBI had recovered millions of dollars extorted from Colonial Pipeline by Darkside. —Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025

Trucking employs millions of drivers across the United States, and experts predict that job roles will evolve as fleets adopt autonomous systems. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 8 Nov. 2025

This mismatch between perception and reality has real consequences, fueling the notion that higher education as a whole is elitist and out of touch, hiding the work of the colleges that educate millions of working- and middle-class families. —Yolanda Watson Spiva, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2025

That’s millions of lives saved, but there are still people who love animals being forced to do the unthinkable simply because their organization hasn’t yet implemented modern lifesaving policies and programs. —Scott Giacoppo, Boston Herald, 8 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English milioun, from Middle French milion, from Old Italian milione, augmentative of mille thousand, from Latin

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing million

• look/feel like a million dollars/bucks
• never/not in a thousand/million/billion years
• one in a million
• thanks a bunch/lot/million
• thanks a million

Rhymes for million

• billion
• pillion
• trillion
• castilian
• civilian
• cotillion
• pavilion
• postilion
• quadrillion
• reptilian
• vermilion
• vermillion

Kids Definition

million

noun

mil·​lion ˈmil-yən 

plural millions or million

1

: a number equal to 1,000 times 1,000 see number

2

: a very great number

millions of mosquitoes

million adjective

millionth

-yən(t)th 

adjective or noun