Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
petabit

petabit

7.5
A very large unit for digital information equal to one thousand terabits, using bits not bytes
  • noun
  • /ˈpɛtəˌbɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : petabit
  • Telecommunication networks are now aiming to support up to 1 petabit of data throughput to facilitate modern communication demands.

Examples

  • The new data center can handle a total capacity of 10 petabits, ensuring efficient data storage and retrieval.

  • Advancements in technology have allowed for the transfer of information at speeds reaching several petabits per second.

  • We want to do this, build this petabit switch while maintaining economies of scale.

Synonyms

Pb
vspetabit
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A unit for very large digital data equal to one thousand terabits

has identical meaning but uses the full written name instead
Pbit
vspetabit
  • Specialized
9.9

A unit of digital information equal to 1,000 terabits or 1,000,000,000,000,000 bits

has identical meaning but uses the full written name instead

How Much

exabit
  • Specialized
9.6
petabit
  • Specialized
7.5
terabit
  • Specialized
1 5.1
gigabit
  • Specialized
3 4.0
megabit
  • Specialized
2 3.7
kilobit
  • Specialized
1 4.8
bit
  • Specialized
106 4.4

Surface Forms

petabit singular
petabits plural

Morphology

petabit = bit + peta (transparent) = peta + bit

Formed by the standard SI prefix 'peta-' (10^15) attached to the familiar computing unit 'bit', so the magnitude and base unit are directly derivable.

Etymology

Petabit comes from the prefix peta- and bit; peta- comes from an old Greek word meaning 'five', like in pentagon, and bit is short for the 'binary digit' used in computers. So a petabit is a very large number of bits, equal to 1,000 terabits or 10^15 bits, and is used to name huge amounts of digital information.