millionaire
Americannoun
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a person whose wealth amounts to a million or more in some unit of currency, as dollars.
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any very rich person.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of millionaire
1820–30; < French millionnaire, equivalent to million million + -aire -ary
Compare meaning
How does millionaire compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A millionaire is someone who has at least a million dollars. If you're a millionaire, you are incredibly wealthy — but not as rich as a billionaire. In U.S., if you have a million dollars — or things that are worth that much, like a million-dollar house — you're a millionaire. In the U.K., a millionaire has a million pounds. This word describes a specific amount of wealth, but it's also a metaphor for "rich," so you might say, "My neighbors are millionaires — they travel to foreign countries all the time!" The first American millionaire was John Jacob Astor, who earned his riches from 18th-century fur trading.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lucia’s neighbor Steve Chessare lobbied him, telling the story of being taunted for the Millionaire name the year his basketball team won the state championship in 1974.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026
In 1966, Twister became a phenomenon and challenged sexual norms, while a revamped version of Milton Bradley’s Game of Life—complete with plastic automobiles and destinations including Millionaire Acres—pushed the postwar suburban fantasy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026
The couple shared a £1m pot of cash with seven other neighbours after their postcode won the lottery's weekly Millionaire Street Prize.
From BBC • Oct. 9, 2025
Boyle, who won Best Director in 2009 for his film Slumdog Millionaire, said the Southbank Centre was "for everyone, like the NHS - a dose of culture, like a vitamin injection, it lifts you".
From BBC • Sep. 18, 2025
“Hey, Mr. Millionaire, how about loanin’ me a few thousand bucks?”
From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
