gigawatt

noun

giga·​watt ˈji-gə-ˌwät How to pronounce gigawatt (audio) ˈgi- How to pronounce gigawatt (audio)
: a unit of power equal to one billion watts

Examples of gigawatt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
According to The Information, OpenAI chief Sam Altman has floated eventually needing 250 gigawatts of electricity — equivalent to about a third of peak power consumption across the US. Semafor Events, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2025 This summer, Louisiana’s Public Service Commission voted to expedite the approval for the construction of three natural gas turbines that will run the center on more than 2 gigawatts of energy, WIRED reported. Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025 That implies the construction of dozens of data centers along the lines of the Stargate Project, which plans to build the first ever 1-gigawatt facilities. IEEE Spectrum, 1 Oct. 2025 No Chinese tech company showroom is complete without a giant glowing map of the latest app downloads, cars charged, or gigawatts of solar power generated in real time. Matthew Tostevin, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gigawatt

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1962, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gigawatt was circa 1962

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Cite this Entry

“Gigawatt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gigawatt. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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