thousand

thousand

/ˈθaʊznd/

(abbreviation K)

​ 1 000

You say a, one, two, etc. thousand without a final ‘s’ on ‘thousand’. Thousands (of…) can be used if there is no number or quantity before it. Always use a plural verb with thousand or thousands, except when an amount of money is mentioned Four thousand (people) are expected to attend. • Two thousand (pounds) was withdrawn from the account.

2 a thousand, thousands (of…) (usually informal) a large number

There were thousands of people there.

​3 the thousands the numbers from 1 000 to 9 999

The cost ran into the thousands.

There are more examples of how to use numbers at the entry for hundred.

Idioms

Word Origin

Old English thūsend, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch duizend and German Tausend.