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

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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

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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

In September, the total for-sale housing inventory in the U.S. jumped to 1.6 million units, the highest level since November 2019, NAR said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 17, 2026

Data showed 4.28 million foreigners staying in Japan as of the end of June, excluding short-term visitors, the Immigration Services Agency said on Friday.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

And Poppi, the prebiotic soda Pepsi bought for nearly $2 billion, is underwhelming: Pepsi now expects to pay almost none of the $300 million bonus it promised the sellers if the brand hit its targets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

Two weeks after cutting his first check, Musk gave an additional $83 million to SLF, according to the group’s filing.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

I’ve heard this speech a million times before.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

“A stolen login credential should not become a months-long passport to millions of students’ personal records,” said Anton Dahbura, executive director of the Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Naturally occurring pink diamonds are exceptionally rare and often sell for tens of millions of dollars.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Repeated across millions of interactions, modest savings could become meaningful.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

He has recruited young politicians with large online followings, including Ana Elisa, a 21-year-old newly elected lawmaker from Minas Gerais state who has millions of followers.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Hubler could make hundreds of millions facilitating the idiocy of Morgan Stanley’s customers.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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