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millennium Definition

mil·len·nium (mi lenē əm)

noun pl. -·ni·ums or -·nia

  1. any period of 1,000 years 2000 through 1001 is the 2d millennium
  2. a period of 1,000 years reckoned from a certain time, esp. from the beginning of the Christian Era (1) the year A.D. 2001 marks the beginning of the third millennium
  3. a 1,000th anniversary or its commemoration
  4. any period of great happiness, peace, prosperity, etc.; imagined golden age

Etymology: ModL < L mille, thousand + annus, year (after L biennium): see annual

millennium Related Forms

mil·len·nial adjective mil·len·ni·al·ism′ noun mil·len·ni·al·ist noun

millennium Idioms

the millennium

Christian Theol. the period of 1,000 years during which Christ will reign on earth: Rev. 20:1-5

millennium Synonyms

millennium

n.

a thousand years, millenary, the Second Coming, happiness, golden age, golden dream, kingdom come, heaven on earth, thousand years of peace; see also utopia.

millennium Usage Examples

Preposition: of

Christianity: We are now at the start of the third millenium of Christianity.

Converse of object

  • celebrate: The school has celebrated the coming Millenium in several ways.
  • commemorate: It consists of a tall cross commemorating the Millenium.
  • span: They span five millennia, and are written on virtually every medium ever employed.
  • enter: We enter the new millenium strongly positioned for continued success.
  • mark: Last year we made a CD to mark the Millenium.
  • greet: Of course we want success at Langney, but not if it means greeting the millenium with a 2nd Division fixture.

Adjective modifier

  • third: Not the case now we're in the third Millenium.
  • 3rd: In the Trust we are building a new hospital fit for the 3rd millenium.
  • 2nd: Tin bronze work commenced from about the beginning of the 2nd millenium B.C. to the mid 1st millenium B.C. in Xinjiang, China.
  • 1st: Nick Merriman handles the 1st millenium BC with equal aplomb.
  • fourth: We know that deposits of silver were worked in Iran from the fourth millenium BC.
  • 4th: Among the earliest structures revealed during the survey were trackways from the 4th millenium BC, visible only very rarely at extreme low water.

Modifies a noun

  • bug: Millenium Bug: planning for disaster on January 1 There is considerable coverage being given to the Year 2000 problem.
  • celebration: Chris Smith has given shape to the wider Millenium celebrations.
  • dome: I'll build a mini millenium dome in my garden!
  • stadium: Millenium Stadium will be even more tense than this, if we win, it will even eclipse this as an experience.
  • eve: The first came on millenium eve whilst standing on London Bridge waiting for the fireworks to go off.
  • ad: It is the earliest example in Cornwall During the first millenium AD, what is now Cornwall evolved from a Roman division of territory.

Noun used with modifier

landmark: The launch of the new name for Bristol's landmark Millenium project.

Browse dictionary entries near millennium

  1. millenary
  2. millenarian
  3. millefleurs
  4. millefiori
  5. milled
  6. mille-feuille
  7. milldam
  8. millcake
  9. Millay
  10. Millais
  1. millennium bug
  2. millepede
  3. millepore
  4. miller
  5. miller's-thumb
  6. millerite
  7. millesimal
  8. millet
  9. milli-
  10. milliampere