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
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The company is planning for over 10 gigawatts worth of computing power coming online in the next three years, Clay Magouyrk, its other CEO, said on the call. Jordan Novet, CNBC, 10 Mar. 2026 The chips, which will be deployed by Thinking Machines early next year, will provide computing power amounting to at least 1 gigawatt — roughly the amount of energy needed to power 750,000 homes. Bloomberg, Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2026 China set a goal of 110 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2030 in its latest five-year plan draft, a 76% jump from the end of last year. John Kerry, semafor.com, 10 Mar. 2026 The most conservative load estimates from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the statewide grid, range from 125 gigawatts to 250 gigawatts by the end of the decade. Kelsey Brown, San Antonio Express-News, 9 Mar. 2026 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 13 Mar. 2026.

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