trillion

American  

[tril-yuhn] / ˈtrɪl yən /

noun

plural

trillions,

plural

trillion

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

Example Sentences

Private credit has grown rapidly in recent years — approaching $2 trillion — and it has never been tested through a full recession or financial-market stress without the backstop of the U.S.

From MarketWatch

All together, components of the State Street software ETF have lost a combined $1.6 trillion in market capitalization this year.

From The Wall Street Journal

Shares in the firm -- which last year became the first to top $5 trillion in market capitalisation -- dipped in after-hours trade in New York, with analysts saying expectations had become almost impossible to meet.

From Barron's

It has allocated as much as around $1 trillion for those purposes, but it is unclear how rapidly those sums will be deployed.

From The Wall Street Journal

Families are poised to pass down more than $100 trillion in coming years and are contending with how to communicate it.

From The Wall Street Journal