hundreds and thousands
/ˌhʌndɹəds n̩ ˈθaʊz(ə)ndz/
"hundreds-and-thousands" is a 20-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hundreds and thousands” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 22
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An indefinite but emphatically large number.
Corpus desk
Index EN-hundreds-and-thousands · hundreds and thousands · English
hundreds and thousands · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 22 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "H" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hundreds and thousands |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌhʌndɹəds n̩ ˈθaʊz(ə)ndz/ |
| Letters | 22 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “hundreds and thousands” in English
Rare enough to double-check
hundreds and thousands is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌhʌndɹəds n̩ ˈθaʊz(ə)ndz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for hundreds and thousands in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *ḱm̥tóm From hundreds + and + thousands. Sense 2 (“tiny balls or strands of multicoloured sugar”) is from the fact that the confectionery is made up of numerous sugar pieces. The correct English form is hundreds and thousands, spelled H-U-N-D-R-E-D-S- -A-N-D- -T-H-O-U-S-A-N-D-S.
Definition
- 1An indefinite but emphatically large number.
- 2Tiny balls or strands of multicoloured sugar, sprinkled over ice cream, desserts or party foods.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how hundreds and thousands appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
1864 September 12, W. T. Sherman, letter to James M. Calhoun, E. E. Rawson and S. C. Wells, representing City Council of Atlanta, published in 1865, Joel Tyler Headley, Grant and Sherman: Their Campaigns and Generals, 2008, page 592, I myself have seen in Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi, hundreds and thousands of women and children fleeing…
Have there not been hundreds and thousands of people injured in the depression in value of railroad securities?
Etymology
PIE word *ḱm̥tóm From hundreds + and + thousands. Sense 2 (“tiny balls or strands of multicoloured sugar”) is from the fact that the confectionery is made up of numerous sugar pieces.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.