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

Fox 4 meteorologist Joe Lauria was one of thousands of Kansas Citians who listened to Tobin’s show over the years. — Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 8 Sep. 2026

Scientists literally had to pick up the pieces after the wafers containing the solar wind samples shattered into thousands of tiny shards. — Tariq Malik, Space.com, 8 Sep. 2026

For at least two decades, thousands of Americans have been going to Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil to look for ayahuasca, a psychoactive brew traditionally used in sacred ceremonies in South America. — Pardis Mahdavi, The Conversation, 8 Sep. 2026

Bergstrom and Soucy did not stick thousands of decals directly to their walls. — Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 8 Sep. 2026

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