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

"By the end of the century a million people a year were visiting."

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Thousands have been killed and millions displaced since a military coup in 2021, which triggered a civil war with armed resistance groups and ethnic militias.

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The new trial, scheduled to last three months, comes after 1.8 million UK drivers brought complaints against the five lead defendants, as well as other manufacturers like Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota, Vauxhall-Opel and BMW.

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More than 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items.

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Battlefield 6's launch is expected to be a big one, with analysts predicting it could sell up to five millions copies in its first week.

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Related Words

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