Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

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

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

See Examples For:

The researchers found that melting within these channels can increase by roughly an order of magnitude in some areas.

From Science Daily May 10, 2026

The banks that lend to private credit funds are within the perimeter, and their exposure has grown by an order of magnitude over the past 10 years.

From MarketWatch Apr. 22, 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

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

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

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training