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

See Examples For:

million millions

There are a million and one reasons to love and celebrate the life of national treasure Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday at 80.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Now, Owens has more than 35 million subscribers and followers across platforms and a podcast that is frequently ranked in the country’s top 20.

From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026

Outside music, her philanthropy gave scholarships to impoverished students and supplied more than 200 million books to young readers.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Ship-tracking company Vortexa estimates that Iran has roughly 80 million barrels of crude in floating storage in Asian waters, representing billions of dollars of potential revenues for Iran.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

“Okay, fine. You win! Your career is a million times more altruistic than mine. Are you happy?”

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

“If I say ‘Here’s a blank canvas, write me such and such,’ would that just be a melange of millions of other scripts?

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Energy prices will rise by nearly 4% for millions of households in October.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

But Tehran still has millions of barrels of oil stored offshore in oil tankers, mainly in the waters off Malaysia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Her nearby Dollywood theme park remains a vital economic engine for the region, and the Imagination Library she founded provides books for millions of children, they said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

There were millions of stars surrounding the crescent moon.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

Related Words

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