thousand — Definition, Formula & Examples
A thousand is the whole number 1,000, which comes after 999 and represents ten groups of one hundred. It is written with a 1 followed by three zeros.
The number one thousand is the natural number equal to , or equivalently . In the base-ten place-value system, the digit in the thousands place represents how many groups of 1,000 a number contains.
Key Formula
Where:
- = Ten raised to the third power, meaning 10 multiplied by itself three times
How It Works
In our place-value system, each position is worth ten times the position to its right. The thousands place sits just to the left of the hundreds place. To find how many thousands a number contains, look at the digit in the fourth position from the right. For example, in 5,382 the digit 5 is in the thousands place, so the number contains 5 thousands. When reading large numbers aloud, you say the thousands group first, then the word "thousand," then the remaining hundreds, tens, and ones — for instance, 5,382 is read "five thousand three hundred eighty-two."
Worked Example
Problem: Write the number 4,726 in expanded form and identify the value of the thousands digit.
Step 1: Identify each digit's place value, starting from the left.
Step 2: Multiply each digit by the value of its place.
Step 3: Write the full expanded form by continuing with the remaining digits.
Answer: The thousands digit is 4, and its value is 4,000. The expanded form is 4,000 + 700 + 20 + 6.
Another Example
Problem: A school collected 3 thousand pencils and 250 more pencils. How many pencils is that in standard form?
Step 1: Convert "3 thousand" to a numeral.
Step 2: Add the remaining pencils.
Answer: The school collected 3,250 pencils.
Visualization
Why It Matters
Understanding thousands is essential for place-value work in elementary math courses and for reading numbers you encounter daily — distances in meters, prices in dollars, or populations of towns. Mastering the thousands place also prepares you to work comfortably with even larger numbers like ten-thousands, millions, and beyond.
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Placing the comma in the wrong spot, such as writing 42,50 instead of 4,250.
Correction: Count three digits from the right and place the comma there. For 4250, the comma goes after the 4: 4,250.
Mistake: Confusing "thousand" with "thousandth." A thousand is the whole number 1,000, while a thousandth is the fraction 1/1,000 or 0.001.
Correction: Remember that the "-th" ending signals a fractional or ordinal value, not a whole number.