tera-

1. a combining form used in the names of units of measure equal to one trillion of a given base unit:

   terahertz.

2. Computers. a combining form of like function with the value 2 40 (= 1,099,511,627,766).

tera-

prefix

1. denoting 10 ¹²

   terameter

2. Alsotebi- denoting 2 ⁴⁰

   terabyte

tera–

1. A prefix that means:
2. One trillion (10 ¹²), as in terahertz, one trillion hertz.
3. 2 ⁴⁰ (that is, 1,099,511,627,776), which is the power of two closest to a trillion, as in terabyte.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tera-¹

< Greek téras monster. See terato-

Word History and Origins

Origin of tera-¹

from Greek teras monster

Example Sentences

Now, every Sunday I listen as my pastor, the Rev. Tera Landers, ends her sermon with a phrase I take to heart: “Go out and love the world.”

From Los Angeles Times

Still, Britain’s economic data “is incredibly mixed,” said Tera Allas, director of research and economics at McKinsey’s Britain and Ireland office and a former economist in the civil service.

From New York Times

“It’s important because we need to understand the value that African Americans placed on family relationships in general and on marriage in particular and the sacrifices they made, often at great costs,” said Tera W. Hunter, a historian at Princeton University and the author of “Bound in Wedlock: Slave and Free Black Marriage in the Nineteenth Century.”

From New York Times

“You don’t need a criminal penalty. You need services, and you need to make sure that you’re investing in those services,” said Tera Hurst, executive director of the Health Justice Recovery Alliance.

From Seattle Times

"My mother's cousin was chief of a village called Téra," she tells me over lunch.

From BBC

Words That Use tera-

What does tera- mean?

Tera- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “one trillion.” It is often used in terms of measurement. In terms from computer science, such as terabyte, tera- means 2⁴⁰—which equals, well, a huge number.

Tera- comes from the Greek téras, meaning “monster.” Yes, “monster.” Discover more at our entry for terato-.

What are variants of tera-?

A synonym for tera-, as it is used in computer science to mean 2⁴⁰, is tebi-. Learn more about this combining form at our entry for tebi-.

Examples of tera-

One example of a technical term you may have seen that features the combining form tera- is terahertz, “one trillion (1012) hertz.”

The combining form tera- means “one trillion,” while a hertz is a unit of frequency. Terahertz literally translates to “one trillion hertz.”

What are some words that use the combining form tera-?

• terabit
• terabyte
• teraflop
• teravolt
• terawatt

What are some other forms that tera– may be commonly confused with?

• taur-
• tauro-
• tri-

Not every word that begins with the exact letters tera-, such as teraglin or terakihi, is necessarily using the combining forming tera- to denote “one trillion.” Learn what a terakihi is at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

In computer science, flop is an abbreviation of “floating point.” With this in mind, how many floating-point operations occur per second in a teraflop?