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

Steak ’n Shake closed around 200 locations between 2018 and 2024, with sales dropping by one-third to $760 million, according to market-research firm Technomic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

There were three quarters of a million people of African descent, thousands of Native Americans, people from every European nation and quite a few from elsewhere.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

Officials estimate that foresters must clear an estimated 4 million to 5 million tons of burned timber across the fire area near Bordeaux.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

There, five or six messengers had arrived with money in about an hour and a half, transferring at least a million euros, he estimated.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

The most pressing need in postwar Germany was homes; nine million people were said to be without them.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Most people will never have a thousand – let alone millions – of followers.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

Tips make up a significant portion of the income for millions of servers, housekeepers, taxi drivers, and hairstylists across the United States.

From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026

Good Good, which launched its own apparel brand, had received tens of millions in investment and even struck a deal to sponsor a PGA Tour event later this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

To do it, Markovic’s team will look at how dark matter bends the light of hundreds of millions of galaxies to create maps of its structure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

What mattered was that the general public didn’t have a problem pouring millions of dollars into training and overseeing Glitchers as long as it kept the future intact.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

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