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

The total number of homes for sale in America in August was about 1.62 million, NAR said, which was up nearly 6% from the same month last year.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

That is the lowest since June 2025, when the rate was 3.93 million.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

A man spent $1.4 million he didn’t have to buy an abandoned mining town.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

Forus, a New York-headquartered prescription drug automation platform, landed $150 million in Series C funding at a $3 billion valuation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

I can even help Pua make a million more friends before I leave for Arizona.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Even so, airlines themselves are furious that they have been saddled with a bill of millions of pounds.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

Despite running one the poorest countries in the world, Kim spends millions each year developing a secretive nuclear arsenal.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Perhaps most importantly, Sweeney will share it with her tens of millions of social media followers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

The extreme heat has been linked to tens of thousands of excess deaths across Europe, upended daily life for millions in ill-adapted regions and disrupted the economy through drought and low river levels.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

By early June the subprime mortgage bond market had resumed what would become an uninterrupted decline, and the FrontPoint positions began to move—first by thousands and then by millions of dollars a day.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

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