Trillion Meaning
/ˈtɹɪljən/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
numEither of two large amounts:
numEither of two large amounts:, A million (times a) million: 1 followed by twelve zeros, 10¹².
Sentence Examples
The current debt limit stands at $15.2 trillion.
A light-year is the distance light travels in one year. It's 9.5 trillion (9,500,000,000,000) kilometers.
The Andromeda Galaxy is about twenty trillion kilometers from Earth.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The national debt has reached over seven ____ dollars, a number with twelve zeros.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The national debt of the country has reached several ____ dollars, which is a major concern for the local government today.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from French trillion, from French tri- (“three”) + -illion, equivalent to tri- + -illion. The noun was coined by American basketball player Harvey Pollack, because of the way the numbers read across a basketball box score.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Javik: Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honor matters. Their silence is your answer."
— 2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3: From Ashes (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, PC, scene: Normandy SR-2:
"Data published by the Treasury Department showed that “total public debt outstanding” rose to $34.001 trillion on December 29."
— 2024 January 3, Hanna Ziady and Tami Luhby, “US national debt hits record $34 trillion”, in CNN:
"As President Donald Trump prepares to order the dismantling of the Department of Education, the financial arm of the agency – which makes loans directly to borrowers and manages trillions of dollars in student debt – faces an uncertain future, with steep staff cuts and lack of communication exacerbating the uncertainty, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former department employees."
— 2025 March 7, Kayla Tausche, “Dismantling of Education Department puts future of trillions of dollars in student loans in question”, in CNN:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The national debt has reached over seven ____ dollars, a number with twelve zeros.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The national debt of the country has reached several ____ dollars, which is a major concern for the local government today.