Learning English

One thousand

1,000 = a thousand, one thousand.

A millennium is a period of a thousand years.

Is a thousand a big number? It probably depends on who you are and what you are talking about. If it's the number of people at your birthday party, it probably is a big number. If it's the number of people who live in a town, it's probably not that big.

Here are some more facts, expressions and sayings related to the number 1,000.

In slang, £1,000 or $1,000 is known as a grand.

• I found a bag in the park, it's got about ten grand in cash in it. What should I do with it?

In sports 1,000 metres is often referred to as a k.

• I'm doing a 10k run for charity at the weekend.

Any difficult or long task has a starting point. As old Chinese proverb says:

• A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Another saying is: 

• A picture paints a thousand words.

This expression means that an image can be easier to understand and show more clearly something that might take a lot of time to express in writing. 

An expression which a parent might use before telling their children off:

• If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times - no fighting in the car!

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Bigger numbers

10,000 = ten thousand (remember, NOT ten thousands)

• It's just over ten thousand kilometres from London to Asunción.

100,000 = a hundred thousand

• Our hearts beat approximately a hundred thousand times a day.

1,000,000 = a million

• If you counted once a second without a break, it would take over 11 days to count to a million.

This is a phrase that's usually said as a joke, but can you work out why?

• I've told you a million times - don't exaggerate!

Someone with cash or assets worth more than a million pounds or dollars is called a millionaire.

Who wants to be a millionaire? It's a quiz show, a song and also a sentence often used in English lessons on the conditional. If you were a millionaire, ... 

If someone or something is described as looking like a million dollars, it means they or it look very smart and attractive. 

• Wow, nice suit, you look like a million dollars.

You can also feel like a million dollars when you are feeling very healthy.

• All I needed was a good night's sleep. I feel like a million dollars now.

Someone or something that is one in a million is very special, rare or unique. 

• She's so kind, she's one in a million, always ready to help others.

To do

See if you can use some of these big number expressions in our quiz.

Next

In the next activity, find out about even bigger numbers and try our fun quiz about number facts.