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

• multimillion
  noun

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

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

Four of the eight co-authors are employees of a company called Million Marker Wellness, Inc., which sells at-home plastic exposure testing kits for $399 each “as seen on Netflix’s The Plastic Detox.”

From Slate • Apr. 16, 2026

In 2005, actress Hilary Swank headed to Astro Burger in West Hollywood, still in her gown, after winning the Oscar for Million Dollar Baby.

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026

This was two years before the Million Man March.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Related Words

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