mega prefix

Meanings

1. 1prefixtechnical

   used with units to mean one million times that unit.

   Grammar: Attaches to units of measurement: megawatt, megabyte.

   Patterns

   • mega- + unit
   • a megawatt of electricity

   The new power plant can produce 500 megawatts of electricity.

   A megabyte is about one million bytes of data.

   The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0, releasing megatons of energy.

2. 2prefixinformal

   used to mean very large or great in size, importance, or degree.

   Grammar: Attaches to nouns and adjectives to add emphasis: megastar, mega-rich.

   Patterns

   • mega- + noun
   • mega- + adjective

   She became a megastar after her first album.

   They live in a mega-mansion with ten bedrooms.

   The film was a mega-hit at the box office.

Common combinations

megawatt

The wind farm generates 200 megawatts.

megabyte

This photo is only two megabytes.

megastar

The singer is a global megastar.

mega-rich

Only the mega-rich can afford these apartments.

Synonyms and how they differ

million-

Used in the same technical sense, as in 'million-watt', but 'mega-' is the standard prefix in units.

Opposites

Word family

megabyte noun

A unit of computer memory or data equal to about one million bytes.

megahertz noun

A unit of frequency equal to one million hertz.

Practice

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