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 protests and rallies that took place in June saw thousands of citizens gather in Kansas City, Lee’s Summit, Lenexa and Overland Park. —Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 12 Oct. 2025

The Miami Herald reviewed thousands of pages of documents in this case, from federal court records to public records the Herald obtained through the Foundation and Jackson Health System, including hundreds of Gatlin’s invoices and emails. —Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2025

Then, after Argentina temporarily scrapped export taxes on grains, China swooped in and bought tens of thousands of pounds of Argentine soybeans instead. —Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 12 Oct. 2025

Still, hundreds of thousands of government workers have been furloughed in recent days and, in a court filing on Friday, the Office of Management and Budget said well over 4,000 federal employees would soon be fired in conjunction with the shutdown. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 12 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