octillion

[ ok-til-yuhn ]

noun

, plural oc·til·lions, (as after a numeral) oc·til·lion.

1. a cardinal number represented in the U.S. by 1 followed by 27 zeros, and in Great Britain by 1 followed by 48 zeros.

adjective

1. amounting to one octillion in number.

octillion

/ ɒkˈtɪljən /

noun

1. (in Britain and Germany) the number represented as one followed by 48 zeros (10 ⁴⁸)
2. (in the US, Canada, and France) the number represented as one followed by 27 zeros (10 ²⁷)

Derived Forms

• ocˈtillionth, adjective

Other Words From

• oc·tillionth noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of octillion¹

1680–90; < French, equivalent to oct- oct- + -illion, as in million

Word History and Origins

Origin of octillion¹

C17: from French, on the model of million

Example Sentences

Another way to write that number is 10 octillion, and “Fundamentals” is filled with facts like these — the kind of question adults think they can answer until their children ask.

From New York Times

And he reminds us that we have more atoms in our body — 10 octillion — than the number of stars in the visible cosmos.

From Washington Post

It's estimated that there are 3 octillion Prochlorococcus living in the world's oceans.

From Fox News

The xkcd cartoon password “correct horse battery staple” would theoretically take 15 octillion years to crack, but it has already been pwned twice in that form … and 111 times without the spaces.

From The Guardian

She explained that the magnetic field would instantly pull the proton in each of the octillions of hydrogen atoms in my body into alignment.

From The New Yorker