millionaire
Americannoun
-
a person whose wealth amounts to a million or more in some unit of currency, as dollars.
-
any very rich person.
noun
Other Word Forms
- millionairedom noun
- millionairess noun
- nonmillionaire noun
Etymology
Origin of millionaire
1820–30; < French millionnaire, equivalent to million million + -aire -ary
Compare meaning
How does millionaire compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A millionaire is someone who has at least a million dollars. If you're a millionaire, you are incredibly wealthy — but not as rich as a billionaire. In U.S., if you have a million dollars — or things that are worth that much, like a million-dollar house — you're a millionaire. In the U.K., a millionaire has a million pounds. This word describes a specific amount of wealth, but it's also a metaphor for "rich," so you might say, "My neighbors are millionaires — they travel to foreign countries all the time!" The first American millionaire was John Jacob Astor, who earned his riches from 18th-century fur trading.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The millionaire class has been on a steady climb in Maine in recent years, as it has in many other states, alongside the postpandemic stock market boom.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026
Do you have to be a millionaire to become an F1 driver?
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026
Singer was forced to pay him royalties for every machine sold, making Howe a millionaire.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
"If I had a pound for every time I said 'tuck your shirt in', I wouldn't need to teach, I'd be a millionaire," laments one Derbyshire secondary school teacher.
From BBC • Feb. 21, 2026
She should’ve been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
