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

Then, in August, the debut of image-generation tool Nano Banana launched Gemini usage on its fastest trajectory to date, in part by appealing to younger users.

From The Wall Street Journal

You can see cool visual responses when asking for sports scores and other queries, and use the image generator Nano Banana and video maker Veo to remix your own media or dream up new visions.

From The Wall Street Journal

Gemini usage is now on its fastest growth trajectory to date, spurred in part by the summer rollout of an image generator called Nano Banana.

From The Wall Street Journal

I learned how Nano Banana got its quirky name, why Google initially took a cautious approach to chatbots and who within the fiercely competitive OpenAI helped inspire Google co-founder Sergey Brin to get back to the office.

From The Wall Street Journal

The findings were published on November 18 in ACS Nano, an international journal focused on nanotechnology.

From Science Daily