million

IPA/ˈmɪljən/
KK[mˈɪljən]IPA/ˈmɪljən/

million — number

1. a number equal to one thousand times another thousand, written as 1,000,000 — us

1.numberA1
Definition

a number equal to one thousand times another thousand, written as 1,000,000 — used when giving the exact size or amount of something.

Example

The new hospital cost over a million dollars to complete.

a/one million + [plural noun]

More than a million tourists visited the national park last summer.

Common collocations
  • a million dollars
  • one million people
  • over a million
  • nearly a million
  • half a million

Grammar Patterns

a/one + million + [plural noun]

number + million + [plural noun]

Common Mistakes

The city has two millions people.
The city has two million people.
After a number, 'million' stays singular, not plural.
He spent a millions dollars on the car.
He spent a million dollars on the car.
Use 'million' without 's' when a specific number comes before it.

2. a very great number of people or things, used when you want to say the amount is

2.numberA2
Definition

a very great number of people or things, used when you want to say the amount is extremely large but you are not being exact.

Example

Millions of viewers around the world watched the Olympic opening ceremony.

millions of + [plural noun]

The storm left millions of homes without electricity for days.

Common collocations
  • millions of people
  • millions of dollars
  • millions of times
  • millions of viewers
Synonyms
  • countless

    more poetic/emphatic; implies too many to count

  • thousands of

    smaller scale; used for quantities in the thousands

  • billions of

    larger scale; used when the quantity reaches billions

Grammar Patterns

millions of + [plural noun]

Usage Note

Only takes the plural form 'millions' when used before 'of'. The singular 'a million' without 'of' belongs to sense 1 of this part of speech.

Common Mistakes

Million of people live in that city.
Millions of people live in that city.
Use the plural 'millions' when the meaning is a vague large quantity.

3. amounts or quantities that are at least one million but not yet a billion, espec

3.numberB1
Definition

amounts or quantities that are at least one million but not yet a billion, especially when discussing budgets, populations, or statistical figures.

Example

The government spent tens of millions of dollars on the new railway.

tens of millions of + [plural noun]

Several million citizens in the country live below the poverty line.

Common collocations
  • tens of millions of
  • hundreds of millions of
  • in the millions
  • running into millions

Grammar Patterns

[number] + millions of + [plural noun]

tens of millions of + [plural noun]

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 2 (VAST QUANTITY) — sense 2 refers to any vaguely large number, while this sense specifically places the quantity between one million and one billion. The 'of' is always present.

Idioms

look/feel like a million dollars/bucks

idiom

To look or feel very attractive, healthy, or happy.

Sara looked like a million dollars in her red dress.

After a good night's sleep, I feel like a million bucks.

one, etc. in a million

idiom

A person or thing that is extremely rare and special.

My grandmother is one in a million; she bakes the best cookies.

Diego found a coin that was one in a million at the flea market.

million — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: number/2

All four phrases describe a large quantity, but they differ in scale and register. 'Thousands of' is the smallest of the set (in the thousands), while 'millions of' (the headword) describes quantities in the millions — larger than 'thousands of' but smaller than 'billions of'. 'Countless' is deliberately vague and poetic; it suggests the number is too large to count, regardless of the actual scale. 'Myriad' is more formal and literary, often used in descriptive or academic writing ('a myriad of stars') and has a slightly old-fashioned or elevated tone. For everyday speech, 'millions of' and 'thousands of' are the most natural choices. Example: 'Thousands of fans came to the concert' suggests a few thousand; 'Millions of fans tuned in online' suggests a much larger audience; 'Countless fans have written letters over the years' is more emotional and imprecise.

thousands ofcountless ↗myriad ↗billions of

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • a million
  • one million
  • half a million
  • over a million
  • nearly a million
  • millions of
  • tens of millions of
  • hundreds of millions of
  • in the millions

Prepositions

Etymology

ItalianFrenchEnglish

The word 'million' entered English from Old French 'million', which came from early Italian 'milione' (now 'milione'). The Italian word is formed from 'mille' (meaning 'thousand') plus the augmentative suffix '-one' (meaning 'big'), so 'milione' literally meant 'a big thousand' — that is, a thousand thousands. The word first appeared in English around the late 1300s.