megawatt

American  

[meg-uh-wot] / ˈmɛg əˌwɒt /

noun

Electricity.

1. a unit of power, equal to one million watts. MW

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megawatt British  

/ ˈmɛɡəˌwɒt /

noun

1.  MW.  one million watts

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megawatt Cultural  

1. A unit of power: one million watts. A typical large electrical generating plant can produce a thousand megawatts of electricity.

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Etymology

Origin of megawatt

First recorded in 1895–1900; mega- + watt

Example Sentences

"An electric car contains 80 kg of copper, compared with 20 kg in a conventional one," he notes, while "a wind turbine contains between four and ten tons of copper per megawatt."

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

The benchmark Dutch TTF front-month contract rises 2% to 56.35 euros a megawatt hour.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

It’s a query that McCarthy, who came of age — and amassed megawatt fame — as a 1980s heartthrob in films like “Class” and “Pretty in Pink” before transitioning to feted author, longs to address.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

European natural-gas prices surged 18% to 65 euros per megawatt hour after attacks on Qatar’s LNG facilities.

From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026

Sasha was now about a year old, wobbling on two feet and beginning to say words and crack us up with her megawatt smiles.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama