by the thousands

In huge quantities, presumably numbering several thousand. When the potato famine hit Ireland, the Irish began emigrating—especially to America—by the thousands.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Nicu	-	Romanian
Maurine	maw-REEN, MAWR-een	English, Irish
LiliÁNa	-	Hungarian
FİDan	-	Turkish, Azerbaijani
Jackson	JAK-sən	English
Gross	[grəus]