trillion

American  

[tril-yuhn] / ˈtrɪl yən /

noun

trillions plural

1. a cardinal number represented in the U.S. by 1 followed by 12 zeros, and in Great Britain by 1 followed by 18 zeros.

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adjective

1. amounting to one trillion in number.

trillion British  

/ ˈtrɪljən /

noun

1. the number represented as one followed by twelve zeros (10 ¹² ); a million million

2. (formerly, in Britain) the number represented as one followed by eighteen zeros (10 ¹⁸ ); a million million million

3. (often plural) an exceptionally large but unspecified number

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to a trillion

      a trillion stars

   2. ( as pronoun )

      there are three trillion

Other Word Forms

• trillionth
  noun

Etymology

Origin of trillion

1680–90; < French, equivalent to tr ( i )- tri- + ( m ) illion million

Compare meaning

How does trillion compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• billion vs. trillion

Explanation

A trillion is 1,000,000,000,000, also known as 10 to the 12th power, or one million million. It’s such a large number it’s hard to get your head around it, so sometimes trillion just means “wow, a lot.” A trillion is bigger than a million, more than a billion, it’s 1,000,000,000,000 (and even or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 in some countries). (Yes, those are 18 zeroes in that last one.) Either way, this is such a large number that it's hard to imagine. Maybe that's why people often use this word in a looser sense, as in "I have a trillion reasons why I like this band!" That meaning is similar to gazillion, bazillion, and zillion, which aren't real numbers.

Example Sentences

In Asia, South Korean chipmaker SK hynix hit a $1 trillion market capitalisation, placing it alongside regional tech heavyweights Samsung Electronics and TSMC, as well as US chipmaker Micron.

From Barron's • May 28, 2026

Companies in the index have added around $5.7 trillion in market capitalization, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

SpaceX’s valuation after the IPO is expected to reach $1.5 trillion or more, suggesting Baron could see additional gains.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

Although nothing has yet been confirmed, the rumors are that SpaceX is selling off maybe $75 billion out of a $2 trillion valuation.

From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026

“Unlikely. This one EGG cost several trillion dollars.”

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly