thousand
A1All registers (neutral). Commonly used in both formal and informal contexts.
Definition
Meaning
The cardinal number equivalent to ten hundreds; 1,000.
An indefinitely large number; a great many. Often used in plural form to express a vague, large quantity (e.g., 'thousands of people').
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Functions primarily as a noun or a determiner. When used as a determiner, it is invariable (e.g., 'a thousand years'). As a noun, the plural is regular ('thousands') but note the specific plural form in expressions like 'thousands of'. It can also act as a pronoun in contexts like 'a thousand were present'.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage. Both varieties use commas (or spaces in some regions) to separate thousands in writing (e.g., 1,000 or 1 000). Pronunciation of the final /d/ may be slightly less released in some fast American speech.
Connotations
Identical in both varieties.
Frequency
Equally high-frequency in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
NUM + thousand + (of) + PLURAL NOUN (e.g., three thousand dollars, thousands of books)DET + thousand + SINGULAR NOUN (e.g., a thousand reasons)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Bat a thousand (AmE: to be perfectly successful)”
- “One in a thousand (exceptionally good)”
- “A picture is worth a thousand words”
- “Not a thousand miles from (humorous: very near to a place or fact)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used in financial reports, budgets, and sales figures (e.g., 'Revenue increased by fifty thousand pounds').
Academic
Used in statistics, historical dating, and quantitative research (e.g., 'The sample consisted of two thousand participants').
Everyday
Used for prices, distances, quantities, and vague large numbers (e.g., 'I've told you a thousand times').
Technical
Used as a unit prefix 'kilo-' in computing (e.g., kilobyte) and the metric system. Also in engineering and science for precise measurements.
Examples
By Part of Speech
adjective
British English
- She received a thousand-pound grant for her research.
American English
- It was a thousand-mile journey across the country.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The book costs twenty pounds.
- My town has about ten thousand people.
- She is one thousand metres away.
- Over a thousand students attended the lecture.
- The repair will cost a couple of thousand.
- He earned thousands from the sale.
- The charity raised several thousand pounds for the new hospital wing.
- Archaeologists discovered artefacts dating back thousands of years.
- I've heard that excuse a thousand times before.
- The policy change will affect hundreds of thousands of pensioners.
- Precision to within one thousandth of a millimetre is required.
- The novel explores the myriad thoughts that pass through one's mind, not merely a thousand.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'thou' (an old word for a thousand) + 'sand' on a beach. Imagine counting a thousand grains of sand.
Conceptual Metaphor
LARGE QUANTITY IS A LARGE NUMBER (e.g., 'I have a thousand things to do' = I have many tasks).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Russian uses 'тысяча' which declines (меняется по падежам). Remember 'thousand' is typically invariant as a determiner (e.g., 'with three thousand people' NOT 'with three thousands people').
- Beware of false friends: 'тысяча' is a noun, but in English 'thousand' can be a noun OR a determiner, so word order differs.
Common Mistakes
- Adding 's' incorrectly as a determiner: 'five thousands people' (incorrect) vs. 'five thousand people' (correct).
- Using singular verb with plural 'thousands of': 'Thousands of pounds was spent' (formal) vs. 'Thousands of pounds were spent' (more common).
Practice
Quiz
In which sentence is 'thousand' used correctly?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Use 'five thousand' (without 's') when it is a determiner before a noun (e.g., five thousand pounds). Use 'thousands' (with 's') when it is a noun standing alone or in the phrase 'thousands of' (e.g., thousands were affected, thousands of pounds).
You can write 'one thousand five hundred' or, more commonly in BrE, 'fifteen hundred'. Both are correct.
They are often interchangeable. 'A thousand' is slightly more informal and general. 'One thousand' is used for emphasis, clarity, or in formal contexts like legal/financial documents.
No, 'thousand' is not used as a verb in modern standard English.
Collections
Part of a collection
Numbers and Time
A1 · 50 words · Numbers, dates, days and expressions of time.