million

American  

[mil-yuhn] / ˈmɪl jən /

noun

millions, plural million 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

Nouns

• 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

Appeared in the June 23, 2026, print edition as 'A $100 Million Payday For U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026

"I spent approximately 16 Million Dollars, and it came out great, except for the Vandalism, which we are now fixing," he continued.

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026

The production is most effective when the actors are singing, especially Grace Yoo, who plays Mei-Li and had me entranced the moment she started singing “A Hundred Million Miracles.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026

"They are losing $500 Million Dollars a day, an unsustainable number, even in the short run."

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

After a few moments, the curtains opened again and the main feature, The Million, by a director named Rene Clair, began.

From "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick

Related Words

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