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 Free Press reportedly has more than 50 employees, to CBS News’ thousands. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 17 Nov. 2025

As a result, thousands of flight delays and hundreds of cancellations were reported across the country on nearly a daily basis. —Amanda Musa, CNN Money, 17 Nov. 2025

The Leonid meteor shower is known for producing spectacular meteor storms on occasion, when hundreds, or even thousands of meteors can be seen brightening the night sky each hour. —Anthony Wood, Space.com, 16 Nov. 2025

There's nothing quite like being thousands of miles from home as the stock market plunges. —Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 16 Nov. 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