noun
millennium
mih-LEH-neerm
noun
1
A period of one thousand years.
"Historians study how civilisations rose and fell across a single millennium."
2
The point at which one thousand-year period ends and the next begins, especially the year 2000.
"Cities across the world held huge parties to mark the new millennium."
How to Use Millennium
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA stretch of one thousand years, or the turning point between one such stretch and the next.
Common mistake
The plural is "millennia," not "milleniums."
Common pairings
the new millennium
turn of the millennium
for a millennium
Word Forms
millennia plural, millenniums plural
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Etymology
From Late Latin mīllennium, built from mīllennis ("of a thousand years") plus the noun-forming suffix -ium.