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Glite Dictionary
sextillion

sextillion

1 9.5
A very large number written as 1 followed by twenty-one zeros in American English or thirty-six zeros in British English
  • noun
  • /sɛkˈtɪljən/
  • UK
: sextillón
  • However, all of the sextillions of atoms in a penny aren't the same.

Examples

  • There are approximately 1.4 sextillion ants on Earth, showcasing the vast diversity of life.

  • The probability that the "birth certificate" and other Obama identity documents are genuine is just 1 in 75 sextillion.

    Blog text (15)

  • One chance in a sextillion, but it's possible.

    A Law for Christmas (2023)

  • The next one is quad quintillion, sextillion, septillion.

  • It's incredible to think that this mist of 100,000 measurable stars is a tiny fraction of the sextillions of stars in the broader universe.

    Blog text (7)

  • The estimated number of stars in our galaxy is around sextillion.

  • In mathematics, one sextillion is equivalent to a one followed by 21 zeros.

Surface Forms

sextillion singular
sextillions plural
sextillions plural
sextillion singular

Morphology

sextillion = million (semi-transparent) = sext + illion

The form combines the numeric prefix 'sext-' (sixth) with the numeric formative '-illion', so learners familiar with the '-illion' naming pattern can infer it denotes a very large number related to 'six', but the exact magnitude and the US/UK difference are not obvious.

Etymology

Sextillion comes from the Latin part sext- meaning 'six' and the familiar number million, so it is like the 'sixth' step in the million naming series. That's why a sextillion is a very large number — in American use it is written as 1 followed by 21 zeros, while in older British use it can mean 1 followed by 36 zeros.