trillion
pronunciation
How to pronounce trillion in British English:
UK [ˈtrɪljən]
How to pronounce trillion in American English:
US [ˈtrɪljən]
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- Noun:
- the number that is represented as a one followed by 18 zeros
- the number that is represented as a one followed by 12 zeros
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- Adjective:
- one quintillion in Great Britain
- one million million in the United States
Word Origin
- trillion
- 1680s, from French trillion, from Italian trilione; see tri- + million. In the U.S., the fourth power of a thousand (one thousand billion, 1 followed by 12 zeroes); in Great Britain, the third power of a million (one million billion, 1 followed by 18 zeroes), which is the original sense. Compare billion.
Example
- 1. Student loan debt hit a trillion dollars last year .
- 2. China 's foreign-exchange reserves now exceed $ 2 trillion .
- 3. Estimates of tepco 's liabilities range between 4 trillion and 25 trillion .
- 4. In today 's recessionary world , the ecb could buy several trillion euros-worth of bonds without unleashing inflation .
- 5. Currency reserves are approaching $ 2 trillion .