decillion

Definition

  1. Noun:

    • A cardinal number: "decillion" is the number represented by 1 followed by 33 zeros in the short scale (used in the United States and modern British usage), or 1 followed by 60 zeros in the long scale (traditionally used in many European countries and older British usage). In the short scale, it is equal to 10^33; in the long scale, it is 10^60.

  2. Adjective:

    • Amounting to a decillion: used to describe a quantity of one decillion in number.
      • A decillion stars would be an unimaginably vast number. (Describing a count of one decillion.)
Usage Examples

  • Noun:

    • The national debt is measured in trillions, but a decillion is far beyond that. (A number vastly larger than a trillion.)
    • In the long scale, a decillion equals a million raised to the tenth power. (A mathematical definition of the number.)

  • Adjective:

    • The scientist calculated the odds of that event as one in a decillion. (Extremely improbable, using the number as an adjective.)
Advanced Usage

  • "a decillion times": used hyperbolically to mean an extremely large number of repetitions.

    • I've told you a decillion times to clean your room! (An exaggerated expression meaning "very many times.")

  • "decillionth": the ordinal or fractional form of decillion.

    • He claimed to have a decillionth of a chance of winning. (An extremely small fraction.)
Variants and Related Words
  • Decillionth (adj/n): the ordinal number corresponding to decillion; also a fraction equal to one part in a decillion.
    • The decillionth decimal place is almost never used in practical calculations. (The position in a sequence.)
  • Decillionaire (n): a person whose wealth is measured in decillions of dollars or other currency (extremely rare, hypothetical).
    • Only a decillionaire could afford that luxury spacecraft. (A person of unimaginable wealth.)
Synonyms
  • Nonillion (in short scale): the number 10^30, one thousand times smaller than a decillion.
  • Undecillion (in short scale): the number 10^36, one thousand times larger than a decillion.
  • Googol: 10^100, a much larger number, but often used in similar contexts of vastness.
Related Idioms
  • "One in a decillion": an expression meaning extremely rare or improbable.
    • Finding a four-leaf clover in that field is one in a decillion. (An exaggerated way to say very unlikely.)
Phrasal Verbs
  • (No phrasal verbs are commonly formed with "decillion," as it is a noun/adjective for a specific number.)