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

Hundreds of thousands of the paper’s readers abandoned it last year when Bezos decided not to endorse in the presidential election and to overhaul the opinion section. —Max Tani, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2025

The project would likely bring thousands of jobs across different sectors, according to WEC. —Miranda Dunlap, jsonline.com, 6 Oct. 2025

By December, Seattle taxpayers were paying a hefty $4,200 a month per empty room — at a time when thousands of Seattleites were without a roof over their heads. —Ashley Hiruko, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2025

Beer and wine have been part of human life for thousands of years, but scientists are still discovering how these drinks affect our bodies, taste buds and even gut bacteria. —Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 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