number of million

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "number of million" is not correct in standard written English.
It is typically used incorrectly when referring to a quantity in millions; instead, one should specify the number directly. Example: "The project cost a number of million dollars" should be rephrased to "The project cost several million dollars."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

6 human-written examples

According to Coutts, the number of million pound donations in the UK rose by almost 50% in 2013 from the previous year, totalling £1.36bn, with a growing number of first-time million pound donors.

The Guardian

I think I proved to a number of million kids that reading is not a disagreeable task.

Los Angeles Times

Photo courtesy of The North Face Endurance Challenge 6. Road Race: For the elite distance runners in the world, there are a number of million dollar marathons to choose from, however, not everyone shares the same inclination for racing marathon distances and prefer to keep their races in the 5 - 10 km range.

Huffington Post

Coverage can be run on a user-defined set of regions and normalized to the number of million reads in the input reads file.

Bioinformatics

For normalization, the count for each gene was divided by the number of million uniquely mapped reads in each sample (RPM; read per million mapped reads).

BMC Genomics

The coverage plots were then generated using Samtools (Li et al. 2009) and standardized by dividing the coverage at each base by the number of million reads generated in the sequencing of the sample.

Genome Biology and Evolution

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

54 human-written examples

Second, there is the magic number of three.

The Guardian - Music

"So I could reach that magic number of nine".

The New York Times - Magazine

For some reason, Sony will support the odd number of seven controllers on its PS3.

The Guardian - Tech

To factor a number of two hundred digits or more would take a regular computer many lifetimes.

The New Yorker

This year, Chappaqua has a record number of five high school seniors going for the Gold.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When referring to quantities in the millions, use phrases like "several million", "millions of", or specify the number directly (e.g., "three million").

Common error

Avoid using the phrase "number of million" as it's not standard English. Instead of saying "the project cost a number of million dollars", say "the project cost several million dollars" or "the project cost three million dollars".

Linguistic Context

The phrase "number of million" functions incorrectly as a quantifier. According to Ludwig AI, it's not standard English and should be replaced with phrases like "several million" or by specifying the number directly. It attempts to indicate a quantity in the millions.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Science

33%

News & Media

33%

Wiki

17%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "number of million" is generally considered grammatically incorrect and not recommended for standard English writing. Ludwig AI indicates that it's more appropriate to use alternatives like "several million" or directly specify the number in millions. While the phrase appears in various contexts, including scientific and news media, it's essential to opt for grammatically sound alternatives to maintain clarity and professionalism. Consider using phrases like "millions of" or stating the exact number for better accuracy.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

several million

Replaces "number of million" with a more standard expression of quantity.

millions of

Uses the standard "millions of" construction.

multiple millions

Emphasizes a quantity of more than one million.

a few million

Offers a less precise but grammatically correct alternative.

numerous millions

Highlights that there are many millions involved.

in the millions

Indicates the quantity falls within the range of millions.

a million

Refers to the base quantity before multiplication.

approximately a million

Indicates an estimated quantity of a million.

around a million

Offers an informal estimation of a million.

a quantity of million

Attempts to rephrase but remains awkward.

FAQs

How can I correctly express quantities in millions?

Instead of "number of million", use phrases like "several million", "millions of", or specify the exact number (e.g., "five million").

Is "number of million" grammatically correct?

No, "number of million" is not grammatically correct in standard English. It's better to use alternatives such as "a few million" or "millions of".

What are some alternatives to "number of million" in a sentence?

Depending on the context, you can use phrases like "multiple millions", "numerous millions", or just specify the number in millions (e.g., "2 million").

What's wrong with saying "number of million"?

The phrase "number of million" is not idiomatic or grammatically sound. It's more accurate and clear to use alternatives like "several million" or to state the quantity directly such as "three million".