TRILLION

trillion

(adjective) one million million in the United States

trillion

(adjective) one quintillion in Great Britain

trillion, one million million

(noun) the number that is represented as a one followed by 12 zeros; “in England they call a trillion a billion”

trillion, one million million million

(noun) the number that is represented as a one followed by 18 zeros; “in England they call a quintillion a trillion”

million, billion, trillion, zillion, jillion, gazillion, bazillion

(noun) a very large indefinite number (usually hyperbole); “there were millions of flies”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology 1

Numeral

trillion

(US, modern British, Australian, short scale) A million million: 1 followed by twelve zeros, 10¹².

(dated British, Australian, long scale) A million million million: 1 followed by eighteen zeros, 10¹⁸.

Synonyms

• (10¹²): a long scale billion

• (10¹⁸): a short scale quintillion

Etymology 2

Noun

trillion (plural trillions)

(basketball, slang) A statistic formed by a player playing some number of minutes, but recording no stats.

Source: Wiktionary

Tril"lion, n. Etym: [F. trillion, formed from the pref. tri- in imitation of million a million. Cf. Billion.]

Definition: According to the French notation, which is used upon the Continent generally and in the United States, the number expressed by a unit with twelve ciphers annexed; a million millions; according to the English notation, the number produced by involving a million to the third power, or the number represented by a unit with eighteen ciphers annexed. See the Note under Numeration.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition