order of magnitude

British

noun

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

The range of credible estimates on AI’s productivity impact span roughly an order of magnitude.

From MarketWatch • May 8, 2026

“The order of magnitude we’re still working through, and I think a lot of that is still to be determined.”

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 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

Their problems are an order of magnitude more serious than math anxiety.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023