million[noun]Synonyms: scad, gob(s), heap, jillion, load(s), ream(s), rimption(s), slather(s), slew, wad(s)
[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲
mil‧lion /ˈmɪljən/
number, noun (
plural million or millions)
[
Date: 1300-1400;
Language: French;
Origin: Old Italian milione, from mille 'thousand', from Latin; ⇒ milli-]
1. the number 1,000,000:
The book sold more than a million copies.two/three/four etc million seven million dollars £37 million of new investmentmillions of pounds/dollars etc Millions of pounds were lost in Western aid.2. an extremely large number of people or things
a million I’ve got a million ideas.millions of something She has millions of friends.3. not/never in a million years spoken used to emphasize that something is impossible or very unlikely to happen:
She’ll never believe me. Not in a million years.4. look/feel like a million dollars/bucks informal especially American English to look very attractive or feel very happy and healthy
5. in a million informal a) the best of all possible people or things:
She’s a wife in a million. He’s so generous. He’s one in a million. b) used to show how unlikely something is:
It was a chance in a million that we’d find a fossil.—millionth adjective:
The park has just received its millionth visitor.—millionth noun [countable] [TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲
millionnumber1. 
BAD: Belgium has ten millions inhabitants.
GOOD: Belgium has ten million inhabitants.
BAD: The paper has a circulation of approximately 3.9 millions.
GOOD: The paper has a circulation of approximately 3.9 million.
Usage Note:Using numbers Day, month, minute, mile, kilo etc are always SINGULAR when used (with a number) immediately before a noun: ‘a six-minute wait’, ‘a ten-second silence’, ‘a five-mile race’.
My travel agent had arranged a 6-day coach tour.
The company provides a three-month training course.
Compare: ‘We waited for thirty minutes: ‘We had a thirty-minute wait.’
When you say
100, 1000 etc , or write these numbers in words, use
a hundred, a thousand (WITH
a ):
The palace was build a thousand years ago.
Compare: ‘The palace was built 1000 years ago.’
For emphasis or to be exact, it is possible to use
one instead of
a :
I am one hundred percent against the idea.
After
a/one/five/twelve etc , the words
hundred, thousand, etc are always SINGULAR and are NOT followed by
of :
Five hundred children are born in the city every day.
More than three thousand people were there.
Similarly,
of is NOT used after
100, 250, 3000 etc: If you kill 200 whales a year, they will soon disappear.
Hundreds (of), thousands (of) etc are used only when you give a general idea of how many or how much: ‘There were hundreds of stars in the sky.’ ‘They’ve spent thousands (of pounds) on improvements to the house.’
Use
and between
hundred and the next number. (In American English,
and is often omitted, especially in formal styles.)
BrE The club has about a hundred and thirty members.
AmE The club has about a hundred (and) thirty members.
2. BAD: We hung just over a million of little electric bulbs on the trees.
GOOD: We hung just over a million little electric bulbs on the trees.
BAD: In the last ten years, more than two million of people have come to Milan to find work.
GOOD: In the last ten years, more than two million people have come to Milan to find work.
Usage Note:See language note above
3. BAD: Nearly half million people entered the country.
GOOD: Nearly half a million people entered the country.
Usage Note:See language note above
[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲