Meaning & use
the thousands
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
a number or amount somewhere between 1,000 and 9,999, seen as a range rather than an exact figure
Grammar: Usually follows 'in': costs were in the thousands. It is not used before a noun.
Patterns
- in the thousands
- be in the thousands
- run into the thousands
Repairs to the roof will cost in the thousands, not hundreds.
Attendance at the festival was in the thousands this year.
Their monthly losses were in the thousands by the end of the season.
phrasefixed phrase
very large numbers of people or things, thought of as countless groups of a thousand
Grammar: Often used with 'by' or 'come in': they arrived by the thousands.
Patterns
- by the thousands
- come in the thousands
- die in the thousands
Protesters came by the thousands to the city square.
Birds gather here in the thousands every autumn.
The old records were destroyed in the thousands.
Common combinations
- in the thousands
- Ticket sales were in the thousands within a week.
- by the thousands
- Fans arrived by the thousands for the final match.
- run into the thousands
- Legal fees can quickly run into the thousands.
- cost in the thousands
- A good used car still costs in the thousands.
Synonyms and how they differ
- thousands
- 'Thousands' alone needs 'of' before a noun (thousands of fans), while 'the thousands' names a range or a crowd without 'of'.
- four figures
- 'Four figures' also means 1,000 to 9,999, but it is used mostly about salaries and prices, not crowds.
Opposites
Word family
- thousand number
- the number 1,000.
- thousandth adjective
- coming after 999 others in a series.
- thousands pronoun
- a very large number of people or things.
Commonly confused: the thousands or thousands of?
the thousands vs thousands of
'Thousands of' means an unspecified large number and takes a plural noun: thousands of people. 'In the thousands' describes a size range, not a count of separate items.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
'In the thousands' stands alone to describe a range of amounts. Option A wrongly adds 'of dollars', which belongs with plain 'thousands of dollars'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “the thousands”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.