Definition

A term used to describe a very large number, specifically one thousand billion, often used to indicate an immense quantity or amount.

Example

The company made trillions of dollars in revenue last year.

Conversation

Have you seen the news about the economy lately?

Yeah, it’s crazy how trillions of dollars are being spent.

I know! It makes you think about how much money is really out there.

Exactly! Sometimes it feels like it’s just numbers on a screen.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Definition

A trillion is a number equal to one thousand billion, or 1,000,000,000,000. The term 'trillions' refers to more than one trillion.

Example

The government spent trillions of dollars on infrastructure projects.

Conversation

Did you know that there are trillions of stars in the universe?

That's mind-blowing! I can't even imagine that many.

Right? And scientists say there could be even more galaxies with trillions of stars each.

Root Explanation

Trillions → The word is derived from the prefix 'tri-' (meaning three) and the suffix '-llion', which is a variant of 'million' (from Latin 'mille', meaning thousand). The term 'trillion' originally referred to a number that is three times a million, or a million million (1,000,000,000,000).

Memory Tip

Think of 'tri-' meaning three and 'million' as a large number, so 'trillions' refers to three times a million, or a million million.

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