A11K

Million

UK /["/ˈmɪljən/"]/US /["/ˈmɪljən/"]/

Definition

1 000 000

In simple words: One thousand times one thousand; a very large number.

Examples

  • There are a million stars in the night sky.
  • She wants to save a million dollars for her retirement.
  • A million people attended the concert last night.
  • He has a million ideas for his new project.
  • The book was sold in over a million copies worldwide.

Usage notes

Use 'million' in both formal and informal contexts when discussing large quantities or money. It is generally appropriate in most situations but may feel out of place in extremely casual settings.

Grammar pattern

standalone number

Memory hint

Think of 'mill' like a large factory that produces 'ions' (big stuff) — a million is a lot!

Collocations

  • a million dollars
  • one million
  • millions of people

Synonyms

  • millionth
  • 10^6
  • thousand thousand

Antonyms

  • zero
  • none

Common mistakes

  • Confusing 'million' with 'billion', which is a much larger number.
  • Using 'millions' when referring to a specific million (e.g., saying 'three millions' instead of 'three million').