million

American  

[mil-yuhn] / ˈmɪl yən /

noun

millions plural

1. a cardinal number, a thousand times one thousand.

2. a symbol for this number, as 1,000,000 or M̅.

3. millions, a number between 1,000,000 and 999,999,999, as in referring to an amount of money.

   His fortune was in the millions of dollars.

4. the amount of a thousand thousand units of money, as dollars, pounds, or euros.

   The three Dutch paintings fetched a million.

5. a very great number of times.

   Thanks a million.

6. the million(s), the mass of the common people; the multitude.

   poetry for the millions.

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adjective

1. amounting to one million in number.

2. amounting to a very great number.

   a million things to do.

million British  

/ ˈmɪljən /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the product of 1000 multiplied by 1000 See also number

2. a numeral, 1 000 000, 10 ⁶ , M, etc, representing this number

3. informal (often plural) an extremely large but unspecified number, quantity, or amount

   I have millions of things to do

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to a million

      a million light years away

   2. ( as pronoun )

      I can see a million under the microscope

2. informal done for; sunk

million Idioms  

1. see feel like oneself (a million dollars); look like a million dollars; one in a million.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• multimillion
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• million
  plural
• millions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of million

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English milioun, from Middle French, from Old Italian millione ( Italian milione ), equivalent to mille “thousand” (from Latin mīlle ) + -one, augmentative suffix

Explanation

A million is 1,000,000. It's a large number made of a thousand thousands. If you have a million dollars, you’re a millionaire! The word million comes from the Italian milione, which literally means "a great thousand.” It’s great to have a thousand, but it’s awesome to have a million! A million is a big number but not so big that you don't see it used frequently. In fact, being a millionaire isn’t even a big deal anymore. An online video might be watched by a million viewers, and there are millions of people in big cities like New York City and Chicago.

Example Sentences

Her team also navigated the city’s complex matching funds program, which quickly secured $1.25 million in taxpayer money to power her campaign.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

It still won 26 million votes, only about three million fewer than the BJP, and retained roughly 40% of the popular vote.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

For fiscal 2026, Tyson expects its beef segment to post an adjusted operating loss of $350 million to $500 million, even as overall protein demand remains solid.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

The most expensive tickets of the night surely went to two individuals who won an auction through MSG’s Garden of Dreams Foundation for a total of $1 million.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026

And I wouldn’t in a million and a half years.

From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan

Related Words

• bank
• lot
• much
• sum
• thousand
• ton
• total
• trillion