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billion-strong
- Thread starter Haroon
- Start date
The suffix "-strong" is not uncommon when applied to numbers of people. It really just means "of the specified number". Another example: "five-strong team", a team of five people.
It probably literally means "having the strength of X persons [or things]" (where X is the number), but is used generally as described above. It can also be used of things like ships, often in a military sense.
It probably literally means "having the strength of X persons [or things]" (where X is the number), but is used generally as described above. It can also be used of things like ships, often in a military sense.
foxfirebrand
Senior Member
Southern AE greatly modified by a 1st-generation Scottish-American mother, and growing up abroad.
I think in AE we may take the expression a little more literally-- I can't think of using it without evoking the power or effectiveness or advantage of numbers.
"By the time they'd cut their first album, their fan base was a million strong."
Notice that when placed in apposition strong is not a suffix, and the phrase is unhyphenated. Used adjectivally, we hyphenate it too.
"The group has a million-strong fan base."
.
"By the time they'd cut their first album, their fan base was a million strong."
Notice that when placed in apposition strong is not a suffix, and the phrase is unhyphenated. Used adjectivally, we hyphenate it too.
"The group has a million-strong fan base."
.