million

[ mil-yuhn ]

noun

, plural mil·lions, (as after a numeral) mil·lion.

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.

adjective

1. amounting to one million in number.
2. amounting to a very great number:

   a million things to do.

million

/ 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

determiner

1. preceded bya or by a numeral
   1. amounting to a million

      a million light years away

   2. ( as pronoun )

      I can see a million under the microscope

2. gone a million informal.
   done for; sunk

Other Words From

• multi·million noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of million¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of million¹

C17: via Old French from early Italian millione, from mille thousand, from Latin

Idioms and Phrases

see feel like oneself (a million dollars) ; look like a million dollars ; one in a million .

Example Sentences

Takedown Piracy has removed over 10 million infringements from Google and nearly 100 million more from individual sites and profiles.

From Slate

Once considered a coveted assignment for comedians like Bob Hope and Billy Crystal, the high-stakes role of Oscars host has grown increasingly difficult to fill, as the spotlight on the show has intensified while ratings have steadily dwindled from their peak of more than 55 million viewers in 1998.

From Los Angeles Times

March’s telecast, boosted by the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon and hosted by third-time emcee Kimmel, drew 19.5 million viewers, up 4% from the previous year.

From Los Angeles Times

The Guardian reported this week that UK Athletics lost more than $1 million in one day when it hosted a Diamond League event in Birmingham in 2022 and an additional $636,000 on the World Indoor tour in 2023.

From Los Angeles Times

Johnson believes Grand Slam Track, a series of four three-day meets in which 48 of the fastest men and women in the world race for $12.6 million in prize money, seems like the right way to do it.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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