* Noun: When referring to the number itself, it's a noun.
* Example: "There were thousands of people at the concert."
* Adjective: When describing a quantity, it's an adjective.
* Example: "He earned thousands of dollars in a single year."
* Pronoun: In very specific cases, it can act as a pronoun, usually with a preceding quantifier.
* Example: "They ordered thousands [of the items]."
In the sentence "Thousands of people attended the event," the word "thousands" is a noun.