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

Tens of thousands of people have fled the streets normally jammed with fishermen, tourists and residents. —John Bacon, USA TODAY, 23 Oct. 2024

Tens of thousands of manufacturing employees are currently on strike. —Kerry Breen, CBS News, 23 Oct. 2024

One of those payloads featured tens of thousands of postcards as part of the Club for the Future’s Postcards to Space initiative. —Valerie Stimac, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024

In fact, chamomile has been used for thousands of years to soothe anxiety. —Valentina Bottoni, Vogue, 23 Oct. 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