megawatt

American  

[meg-uh-wot] / ˈmɛg əˌwɒt /

noun

Electricity.

1. a unit of power, equal to one million watts. MW

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megawatt British  

/ ˈmɛɡəˌwɒt /

noun

1.  MW.  one million watts

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megawatt Cultural  

1. A unit of power: one million watts. A typical large electrical generating plant can produce a thousand megawatts of electricity.

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Etymology

Origin of megawatt

First recorded in 1895–1900; mega- + watt

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

megawatt

Costs for large-scale solar projects increased to an average of $69 per megawatt hour, up from $58 last year, according to Lazard.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Argentum AI told Barron’s it has signed two major long-term AI infrastructure deals to deploy a total of 47,000 Nvidia GB300 chips at a 300 megawatt data center in Poland.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

But unlike in Virginia, Texas, Ohio and other states where residents are fighting 400-plus megawatt hyperscaler facilities in their backyards, California has some major barriers keeping data centers at bay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026

“We will not go after a dollar or a megawatt and put our compliance or anyone’s safety in harm’s way,” Pistner said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

Sasha was now about a year old, wobbling on two feet and beginning to say words and crack us up with her megawatt smiles.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama