MW
megawatt; megawatts.
MW
1 American
mW
2
American
Electricity.
MW
1
British
symbol
abbreviation
-
radio medium wave
-
Master of Wine
-
Malawi (international car registration)
mw
2
British
abbreviation
Usage
What does MW mean? In the context of dictionaries, MW stands for “many words.” Or something like that. If you’re here because you searched for “MW dictionary,” well, you’ve come to the right place as far as we’re concerned, because, oh yes, we’ve got many words. MW is really an abbreviation, though, and it can stand for a lot of different things. Most commonly, MW stands for megawatt, a unit of power equal to one million watts. Sometimes, the two letters are used as an abbreviation for milliwatt, a unit equal to one thousandth of a watt. In this case, it is typically styled as mW. In other scientific contexts, MW is an abbreviation for molecular weight—the sum of the atomic weights of all the atoms in a molecule. In URLs, .mw is the internet domain for Malawi. MW can also stand for medium wave (a type of radio wave) or Master of Wine, a certification issued to wine experts. And, OK, yes, when you see MW or M-W in the context of dictionaries, it often refers to the George and Charles Merriam/Noah Webster mashup. You know, “since 1828” and all that. (See you at the convention, M Dub!)Example: The station is capable of generating 1,000 MW of power.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A second 1,000 MW facility started operation in 2023.
From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026
The company will be purchased for $21.20 a share by a joint venture formed by MW Group and funds affiliated with Blackstone Real Estate and DivcoWest.
From Barron's • Dec. 9, 2025
When a data center uses one 500 megawatt turbine, for example, it needs another huge 500 MW turbine to ensure there is backup.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 5, 2025
Just over an hour later the head of Red Eléctrica boss Eduardo Prieto said about 9,200 MW of demand - about 35.1% - had been restored.
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2025
“For every 1,000 MW load from data centers we anticipate our customers could expect 1-2% saving on their monthly electricity bill.”
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 12, 2024
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
