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quintillion

[ kwin-til-yuh n ]
/ kwɪnˈtɪl yən /

noun, plural quin·til·lions, (as after a numeral) quin·til·lion.

a cardinal number represented in the U.S. by 1 followed by 18 zeros, and in Great Britain by 1 followed by 30 zeros.

adjective

amounting to one quintillion in number.

Nearby words

  1. quintessentially,
  2. quintet,
  3. quintic,
  4. quintile,
  5. quintilian,
  6. quintuple,
  7. quintuplet,
  8. quintuplex,
  9. quintuplicate,
  10. quinua

Origin of quintillion

1665–75; < Latin quīnt(us) fifth + -illion (as in million)
Related formsquin·til·lionth, noun, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for quintillion

quintillion

/ (kwɪnˈtɪljən) /

noun plural -lions or -lion

(in Britain, France, and Germany) the number represented as one followed by 30 zeros (10 30)US and Canadian word: nonillion
(in the US and Canada) the number represented as one followed by 18 zeros (10 18)Former Brit word: trillion
Derived Formsquintillionth, adjective

Word Origin for quintillion

C17: from Latin quintus fifth + -illion, as in million
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

Word Origin and History for quintillion

quintillion

n.

1670s, from Latin quintus "the fifth" (see quinque-) + ending from million. Cf. billion. In Great Britain, the fifth power of a million (1 followed by 30 zeroes); in U.S. the sixth power of a thousand (1 followed by 18 zeroes).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper