million

[mil-yuhn]

noun

plural

millions ,

plural

million .

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.

adjective

1. amounting to one million in number.

2. amounting to a very great number.

   a million things to do.

million

/ 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

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

Other Word Forms

• multimillion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of million¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of million¹

C17: via Old French from early Italian millione, from mille thousand, from Latin

Idioms and Phrases

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

Example Sentences

The top 99.8% of the wealthiest families in America stand to receive many more millions of untaxed dollars because of an increase in the estate tax exemption.

Read more on Salon

On one side the established national unions which govern and run rugby union, attracting fans and sponsors while investing millions of pounds back into the sport.

Read more on BBC

"Rick was a bit of a shining light in that period. He got City's brand out there to millions of people."

Read more on BBC

‘I don’t come from money’: I received $1.2 million after a family tragedy.

Read more on MarketWatch

AI will either make millions for those who understand how to use it or make fools of those who don’t.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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