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order of magnitude

British  

noun

  1. Also called: order.  the approximate size of something, esp measured in powers of 10

    the order of magnitude of the deficit was as expected

    their estimates differ by an order of magnitude

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

He believes the appropriate TAM for SpaceX’s connectivity solutions is closer to the $130 billion mark — an entire order of magnitude smaller than SpaceX’s projections.

From MarketWatch Jun. 6, 2026

Despite carrying an operating budget that is an order of magnitude smaller than Celtic’s, the clubs methods have closed the gap in the space of a single season—and laid a foundation for years to come.

From The Wall Street Journal May 15, 2026

If that is the case, we will have the breaking of a bubble that will be worse in order of magnitude than the 1990s tech bubble.

From Barron's Apr. 7, 2026

"In an AI search engine, the average length is 40 to 60 words. So, you're talking about an order of magnitude of specificity change."

From BBC Apr. 6, 2026

The ratio of misery to pleasure was greater by an order of magnitude than any other mountain I’d been on; I quickly came to understand that climbing Everest was primarily about enduring pain.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

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