myriad
Americannoun
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a very great or indefinitely great number of persons or things.
-
ten thousand.
adjective
noun
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(also used in plural) a large indefinite number
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archaic ten thousand
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of myriad
First recorded in 1545–55; from Greek mȳriad-, stem of mȳriás “ten thousand,” from mȳríos “countless”
Explanation
A myriad is a lot of something. If you’re talking about Ancient Greece, a myriad is ten thousand, but today you can use the word in myriad other ways. Myriad comes from the Greek myrioi, the word for ten thousand, or less specifically, a countless amount. Myriad can be a noun, like a myriad of choices, or an adjective, like when you study myriad subjects in college. If you lift a rock you might find a myriad of bugs. Sticklers often look down their noses at using myriad as a noun, but that usage came first.
Vocabulary lists containing myriad
Lord of the Flies
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Grade 10, List 2
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The Old Man and the Sea
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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.
Myriad federal and state campaign-finance laws already regulate political activity, and separate specialized agencies, including the Federal Election Commission, administer those laws.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025
Myriad difficulties for art-house cinema remain, but “Longlegs,” “Anora” and “Conclave” demonstrate how savvy marketing can reach and mobilize discriminating viewers.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 2025
Myriad choices we make throughout the day and night maintain that balance.
From Scientific American • Aug. 15, 2023
Myriad Norris, 25, of Lexington, Kentucky, said she was glad mifepristone was available when she had a miscarriage in late March — even though she ended up not needing it.
From Seattle Times • May 6, 2023
And some enforce their patents aggressively: Myriad Genetics, which holds the patents on the BRCAi and BRCA2 genes responsible for most cases of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, charges $3,000 to test for the genes.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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.
