thousand
- a cardinal number, 10 times 100.
- a symbol for this number, as 1000 or M.
- thousands. the numbers between 1000 and 999,999, as in referring to an amount of money: Property damage was in the thousands.
- a great number or amount.
- Also thousand's place.
- (in a mixed number) the position of the fourth digit to the left of the decimal point.
- (in a whole number) the position of the fourth digit from the right.
- amounting to 1000 in number.
Origin of thousand
Examples from the Web for thousands
Contemporary Examples
We have thousands of users who identify themselves as transgendered and they are welcome members of the Grindr community.
In recent months, thousands of people from all walks of life have flooded the streets of our cities.
The seemingly endless ranks snapped to attention on command and thousands of white gloves rose in salute.
Rodriguez now headed home to his kids, as did thousands of other police parents.
The cap devices on thousands of identical hats glinted in the late morning sun along with the shields worn by each of the cops.
Historical Examples
This system, once invented, was developed during thousands of years.
Ancient ManHendrik Willem van Loon
There are thousands of them in use on rifles, but they've never been able to use them on revolvers before.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
I had handled thousands and thousands before, and never felt that way.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
The Malakand garrison was being overwhelmed by thousands of tribesmen.
The Story of the Malakand Field ForceSir Winston S. Churchill
Thousands of animals drank from it daily; and after drinking had stood or wallowed in it.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
thousand
- the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100See also number (def. 1)
- a numeral, 1000, 10³, M, etc, representing this number
- (often plural) a very large but unspecified number, amount, or quantitythey are thousands of miles away
- (plural) the numbers 2000–9999the price of the picture was in the thousands
- the amount or quantity that is one hundred times greater than ten
- something represented by, representing, or consisting of 1000 units
- maths the position containing a digit representing that number followed by three zerosin 4760, 4 is in the thousand's place
- amounting to a thousanda thousand ships
- (as pronoun)a thousand is hardly enough
- amounting to 1000 times a particular scientific unit
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for thousands
thousand
n.
Old English þusend, from Proto-Germanic *thusundi (cf. Old Frisian thusend, Dutch duizend, Old High German dusunt, German tausend, Old Norse þusund, Gothic þusundi).
Related to words in Balto-Slavic (cf. Lithuanian tukstantis, Old Church Slavonic tysashta, Polish tysiąc, Czech tisic), and probably ultimately a compound with indefinite meaning "several hundred" or "a great multitude" (with first element perhaps related to Sanskrit tawas "strong, force").
Used to translate Greek khilias, Latin mille, hence the refinement into the precise modern meaning. There was no general Indo-European word for "thousand." Slang shortening thou first recorded 1867. Thousand island dressing (1916) is presumably named for the region of New York on the St. Lawrence River.
Idioms and Phrases with thousands
thousand
see bat a thousand; by the dozen (thousand); one in a million (thousand); picture is worth a thousand words.