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

Dukes has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. —Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026

There’s that, plus the hundreds of thousands of stellar restaurants, outstanding shopping opportunities, and zany offbeat attractions that make the Japanese capital a wildly entertaining—and impeccably safe—destination for travelers of all kinds. —Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Apr. 2026

The wildfires burning tens of thousands of acres in the South have destroyed homes, prompted evacuations and closed major roads. —Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026

Humanoid robots still typically cost tens of thousands of dollars per unit despite Chinese robotics manufacturers scaling up mass production, although the Unitree G1 robot costs as low as $13,500 for the baseline model. —ArsTechnica, 28 Apr. 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