nano-

¹ American  

especially before a vowel, nanno-;

1. a combining form with the meaning “very small, minute,” used in the formation of compound words (nanoplankton ); in the names of units of measure it has the specific sense “one billionth” (10-9 ).

   nanomole; nanosecond.

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nano ² American  

[nan-oh, ney-noh] / ˈnæn oʊ, ˈneɪ noʊ /

noun

1. Informal. nanotechnology.

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nano- British  

combining form

1.  n.  denoting 10 ^–9

   nanosecond

2. indicating extreme smallness

   nanoplankton

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nano– Scientific  

1. A prefix that means:

2. Very small or at a microscopic level, as in nanotube. In this sense, this prefix is sometimes spelled nanno–, as in nannoplankton.

3. One billionth, as in nanosecond, one billionth of a second.

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nano- Cultural  

1. A prefix meaning one billionth.

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Usage

What does nano- mean? Nano- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “very small, minute.” In names of units of measure, it means "one billionth." It is often used in scientific and technical terms.Nano- comes from Greek nânos or nánnos, meaning “dwarf.”What are variants of nano-?In some rare instances, nano- is spelled with a double -n-, becoming nanno-, as in nannofossil.When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, nano- becomes nan-, as in nanoid. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use nan- article.

Etymology

Origin of nano-¹

Combining form representing Greek nânos, nánnos dwarf

Origin of nano¹

By shortening

Example Sentences

There’s no shortage of creativity in every discipline—nano technology, micro electronics, secure communications, AI analytics and compute.

From The Wall Street Journal

The image-editing feature Nano Banana helped Gemini climb in popularity earlier this year.

From MarketWatch

Google’s Nano Banana image-generator led to a 45% month-on-month increase in downloads for its Gemini AI app in September.

From Barron's

Analysts at BofA Securities note that Google launched its Nano Banana image-generator model in late August and subsequently saw a 45% month-over-month increase in downloads for its Gemini AI app in September.

From Barron's

“The rise in popularity was likely due to the introduction of Nano Banana feature, which allows users to make more precise edits to images based on natural language prompts,” wrote BofA Securities analysts in a research note.

From Barron's