megaton

American  

[meg-uh-tuhn] / ˈmɛg əˌtʌn /

noun

1. one million tons. ton.

2. an explosive force equal to that of one million tons ton of TNT, as that of atomic or hydrogen bombs. MT

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megaton British  

/ ˈmɛɡəˌtʌn, ˌmɛɡəˈtɒnɪk /

noun

1. one million tons

2.  mt.  an explosive power, esp of a nuclear weapon, equal to the power of one million tons of TNT

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Other Word Forms

• megatonic adjective
• multimegaton noun

Etymology

Origin of megaton

First recorded in 1950–55; mega- + ton ¹

Compare meaning

How does megaton compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• megaton vs. kiloton

Example Sentences

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, he says, we could see CMEs with energy content equal to even more than that.

From BBC

Concerned about the fallout from such a massive blast, Sakharov’s team had removed some of the nuclear fuel, lowering the bomb’s yield to fifty megatons—still, by far, the largest human-made explosion in history.

From Literature

The Tunguska blast was likely 10 times more powerful, releasing an estimated 3 to 5 megatons.

From Science Daily

"Interestingly, ecosystems within the park boundary pull around 1.5 megatons of carbon from the atmosphere each year," Smith said.

From Science Daily

Every year, krill remove as much as 23 megatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, according to new research published by the World Wildlife Fund.

From Seattle Times