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

Ecuador's latest census found that among its 19 million people, nearly 7.6 million have dogs and cats as pets -- almost double the number of children ages 12 and under.

From Barron's • Jul. 12, 2026

According to Rawlence, the ancestors of the St Bathans goose reached Zealandia more than 14 million years ago, but their lineage eventually disappeared without leaving surviving descendants.

From Science Daily • Jul. 11, 2026

MetroLoft faces a more than $30 million lawsuit alleging that the roof and walls at a Tribeca luxury building were ‘literally falling apart.’

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 11, 2026

This is South Dakota - Badlands country - where Gus was eventually discovered 67 million years after roaming our planet.

From BBC • Jul. 11, 2026

Eighteen million dollars’ worth of valuable oil are dumped into the Pasig River to keep it out of Japanese hands, but things quickly spin out of control and the oil catches on fire.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Related Words

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