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Meaning & use

MByte

abbreviation·Advancedcomputing

Last updated

UK/ˈem baɪt/
US/ˈem baɪt/

Meanings

  1. abbreviationcountablecomputing

    A written abbreviation for megabyte, a unit of computer memory or data equal to about one million bytes.

    Grammar: Countable when used as a unit: 'a 10 MByte file'. The plural is usually the same form: '10 MByte' or '10 MBytes'.

    Patterns

    • a 100 MByte file
    • measured in MBytes
    • X MBytes of storage

    The old email attachment was only 2 MByte, so it downloaded quickly.

    This program needs at least 50 MByte of free space on your hard drive.

    She checked the file size and saw it was 12 MByte, too large to send.

  2. abbreviationcountablecomputing

    A unit used to measure the amount of data stored or transferred by a computer.

    Grammar: Often used after a number without a plural ending: '500 MByte'. In careful technical writing, MB is preferred.

    Patterns

    • X MByte of data
    • X MByte per second
    • transfer X MByte

    The phone plan includes 500 MByte of data each month.

    The connection speed was about 1 MByte per second, which felt slow for video calls.

Word forms

pluralMBytes

Common combinations

a MByte file
A 5 MByte file is usually small enough to email.
MByte of storage
The app uses only a few MByte of storage on your phone.
MByte per second
The download speed was 2 MByte per second.
measured in MBytes
The size of the video is measured in MBytes.
free up MBytes
Deleting old photos freed up several hundred MBytes.

Synonyms and how they differ

megabyte
The full word; use it in formal writing or when speaking, while MByte is a written abbreviation.
MB
The more common abbreviation; it is shorter and appears more often in everyday text and on screens.

Word family

megabyte noun
The full form of the unit; one megabyte is about one million bytes.
byte noun
A basic unit of computer data, usually made of eight bits.
gigabyte noun
A larger unit equal to about one thousand megabytes.

Commonly confused: MByte or MB? MByte or Mbit?

MByte vs MB

This is the standard short form of megabyte. MByte is also correct but less common, so learners should usually write MB.

MByte vs Mbit

This means megabit, not megabyte, and is used especially for internet speeds. One megabyte is eight megabits.

Practice

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