millennium

American  

[mi-len-ee-uhm] / mɪˈlɛn i əm /

noun

millenniums, plural millennia plural

1. a period of 1,000 years.

   This great stone monument has seen it all—hardship, plenty, and everything in between—over a millennium and a half.

2. the year 2000, or the turn of the 21st century.

   In 1995, approaching the millennium, the city covered nearly 67,000 acres and had a population of over 1 million.

3. Christianity. the millennium, the period of 1,000 years during which Christ will reign on earth, as an interpretation of a vision set forth by the apostle John in the book of Revelation. Also the Millennium

4. a period of general righteousness and happiness, especially in the indefinite future.

5. a thousandth anniversary.

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millennium British  

/ mɪˈlɛnɪəm /

noun

1. Christianity the period of a thousand years of Christ's awaited reign upon earth

2. a period or cycle of one thousand years

3. a time of peace and happiness, esp in the distant future

4. a thousandth anniversary

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millennium Cultural  

1. A period of a thousand years foretold in the Book of Revelation. During the millennium, those who have been faithful to Jesus and who have not worshiped the Antichrist will reign with Jesus over the Earth. According to the Book of Revelation, the millennium will precede the final battle for control of the universe; Judgment Day will come afterward.

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Discover More

Figuratively, a “millennium” is a period of great justice and happiness on Earth.

The meaning of the Bible's (see also Bible) words about the millennium has been much debated by Christians (see also Christian). Prophecies about the millennium are part of the basic doctrine of several denominations, including Jehovah's Witnesses.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• millennialist
  noun
• millennial
  adjective
• millennially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• millennia
  plural
• millenniums
  plural

Etymology

Origin of millennium

First recorded in 1630–40; from New Latin, equivalent to Latin mill(e) “a thousand” + -ennium, extracted from biennium, triennium, etc.

Explanation

A decade means ten years, a century means a hundred, and millennium means a thousand. Think: a decade of marriage, the new millennium. In Latin, in the Romance languages, and in the metric system, mille refers to a thousand. A millimeter is a thousandth of a meter, a milliliter a thousandth of a liter, a millennium is a thousand years. Think of the number "one million" as a thousand thousands, and you'll get the idea.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

millennium millennia millenniums

At 2.6 points, his 2018 reelection margin marked Texas’ closest statewide race this millennium.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

The mere millionaires saw their wealth grow at an annual rate of 4% adjusted for inflation since the start of the millennium, UBS said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

The Vikings have landed in North America for the second time in just over a millennium and, this time, they’re here to plunder the beer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

A root used for more than a millennium may not replace today's treatments yet, but it could help guide the next generation of hair regrowth therapies.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 7, 2026

Our archaeologist might therefore look at the Americas and conclude that Africans, despite their apparently enormous head start, would have been overtaken by the earliest Americans within at most a millennium.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Some of that carbon becomes woody tissue in the trunk, branches, and roots, where it can remain stored for decades, centuries, or even millennia.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026

Its champions, though, have been around for millennia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

This provides "very little evidence that the yeasts have been multiplying over millennia," he said, adding that he believed they were "relatively recent colonists of the mummy's body".

From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026

"So you could be looking at decades, centuries, millennia before the actual lost peat itself begins to build back up."

From BBC ● May 2, 2026

Nor is it a new thing for man to invent an existence that he imagines to be above the rest of life; this has been his most consistent intellectual exertion down the millennia.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

It would guide scientists in their understanding of our still-unfolding present for generations, perhaps even millenniums, to come.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 9, 2024

Desert locusts for millenniums have been the scourge of farmers across northern Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

From New York Times ● Feb. 14, 2024

Cycladic sculpture begins the great tradition of Greek sculpture that is seen as culminating in the Classical sculpture of the Greek Golden Age, centered on Athens, nearly two millenniums later.

From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2024

Supported by Annabeth, who is a hothead, and Grover, who is careful, Percy has strong motivations to carry on through life-threatening challenges from mythological creatures that have had millenniums to hone their particular life-threatening skills.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2023

Collectively, memorable events have caused the ever-quickening pace of change during the past five millenniums, which begin with what we call the ancient world.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson