WordGarden.iothousand
A2Pronunciation
UK
- /θˈaʊzənd/
US
- /ˈθaʊzənd/
Meanings
Determiner
amounting to one thousand
Noun
the number 1,000
a very large number, especially in the plural
Beyond the definition
Imagine counting the fingers of a hundred different people: that gives you exactly one thousand. This word names the number that comes after nine hundred ninety-nine and before one thousand one. It can also be used in a looser, everyday way to show that something feels like a lot, even when the number is not exact. You might say "thousands of stars" when looking at the night sky, or "I've told you a thousand times!" when you want to stress repetition rather than give a real count. It is a word people use for both exact numbers and big amounts.
It also appears often in measurements, money, distance, time, and population. We talk about a thousand meters in a kilometer, several thousand dollars, a town with a few thousand people, or events from a thousand years ago. In all these cases, the word helps describe something large enough to feel important, whether the number is exact or just used for effect.
"Thousand" is the number 1,000, or ten times one hundred. It is used when talking about exact counting, but it also has a strong place in everyday speech because it can make an amount feel big, dramatic, or impressive. When someone says "a thousand apologies" or "I have a thousand things to do," the point is usually not exact math. The word is being used to show strong feeling, repetition, or a sense of being overwhelmed.
At the same time, it is still a very practical word for real quantities. We use it for money, distance, years, measurements, and large groups of people or things. You might read about a road that is a thousand miles long, a machine that weighs a thousand kilograms, a crowd of several thousand, or a building that cost many thousands of dollars. In these cases, it may mean exactly 1,000, or it may refer more generally to numbers around that size, especially in the plural form "thousands."
The word also appears in many common expressions. "One in a thousand" describes someone or something rare and special. "A thousand times" can mean again and again. "Thousands of" is a standard way to talk about very large numbers without being exact, as in "thousands of visitors" or "thousands of stars." Because of this range, the word works well in both plain factual writing and more expressive, emotional language.
Overall, "thousand" helps English speakers move easily between exact number and strong impression. It can mark a clear place in counting, name a large unit in measurement, or add force to a statement. That mix of precision and expressive power is why it appears so often in conversation, stories, history, and everyday description.
Examples
- 1
Approximate population
The town has about a thousand residents.
- 2
Job applications
More than two thousand people applied for the job.
- 3
Repair cost
They spent several thousand dollars repairing the roof.
- 4
Large crowd
Thousands of fans waited outside the stadium.
- Patternthousands of + plural noun
a very large number of, not an exact number
More examplesFewer examples
- 5
Exaggeration
I’ve told you a thousand times to back up your work.
- Phrasea thousand times
many times, not exactly 1,000
- 6
Rare praise
She’s one in a thousand.
- Phraseone in a thousand
very special and rare
See also
Similar
- one thousand
- 1,000
Shades of meaning
Contrast
Used with (collocations)
- a thousand
- thousands of
- per thousand
Word family
Explore
- place value
- order of magnitude
Forms and spellings
2 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- thousandnounadjective
Forms
- thousandspluralnounadjective