picogram

[ pee-kuh-gram, pahy- ]

noun

1. one trillionth of a gram. : pg

Word History and Origins

Origin of picogram¹

First recorded in 1950–55; pico- + -gram ²

Example Sentences

We naturally make melatonin in our brains, but only in picogram amounts, or one trillionth of a gram, which Dr. Rosen described as “a whiff of it coming out at dusk.”

From New York Times

“The other side of that issue is, people ask the question, how low is too low? … In some instances you can find half a picogram. I don’t even know what that is. A gazillion? I honestly don’t know what it is.”

From Washington Post

A picogram is a trillionth of a gram.

From Los Angeles Times

Baffert has repeatedly emphasized that a picogram is a trillionth of one gram to explain how little of the substance was discovered in the test, saying, “Horse racing must address its regulatory problem when it comes to substances which can innocuously find their way into a horse’s system at the picogram level.”

From Seattle Times

“Second, horse racing must address its regulatory problem when it comes to substances which can innocuously find their way into a horse’s system at the picogram — trillionth of a gram — level. Medina Spirit earned his Kentucky Derby win and my pharmacologists have told me that 21 picograms of betamethasone would have had no effect on the outcome of the race.”

From Los Angeles Times