trillion

[ tril-yuhn ]
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noun,plural tril·lions, (as after a numeral) tril·lion.
  1. a cardinal number represented in the U.S. by 1 followed by 12 zeros, and in Great Britain by 1 followed by 18 zeros.

adjective
  1. amounting to one trillion in number.

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Origin of trillion

1
1680–90; <French, equivalent to tr(i)- tri- + (m)illionmillion

Other words from trillion

  • trillionth, noun, adjective

Words Nearby trillion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use trillion in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for trillion

trillion

/ (ˈtrɪljən) /


noun
  1. the number represented as one followed by twelve zeros (10 12); a million million

  2. (formerly, in Britain) the number represented as one followed by eighteen zeros (10 18); a million million million

  1. (often plural) an exceptionally large but unspecified number

determiner
  1. (preceded by a or a numeral)

    • amounting to a trillion: a trillion stars

    • (as pronoun): there are three trillion

Origin of trillion

1
C17: from French, on the model of million

Derived forms of trillion

  • trillionth, noun, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012