quadrillion

noun

qua·​dril·​lion kwä-ˈdril-yən 

US : a number equal to 1 followed by 15 zeros see Table of Numbers

also, British : a number equal to 1 followed by 24 zeros see Table of Numbers

quadrillion adjective

quadrillionth

kwä-ˈdril-yən(t)th 

adjective or noun

Examples of quadrillion in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Now a new estimate published in Nature suggests that land sources release about 600 quadrillion (600,000,000,000,000,000) microplastic particles into the atmosphere every year, about 20 times more than the number of particles contributed by oceans (about 26 quadrillion). —K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 22 Jan. 2026

Years of heavy money printing has devalued the currency so dramatically that the government’s latest budget ran into the quadrillions of rials. —Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 30 Dec. 2025

For reference, a PFLOPS represents one quadrillion (10^15) floating-point operations per second (1,000 trillion). —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 20 Dec. 2025

Human brains operate on the equivalent of about 20 watts, performing quadrillions of operations per second. —Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 26 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, from Middle French, from quadri- + -illion (as in million)

First Known Use

circa 1690, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for quadrillion

• castilian
• civilian
• cotillion
• pavilion
• postilion
• reptilian
• vermilion
• vermillion
• billion
• million
• pillion
• trillion

Kids Definition

quadrillion

noun

qua·​dril·​lion kwä-ˈdril-yən 

US : a number equal to 1 followed by 15 zeros see number

also, British : a number equal to 1 followed by 24 zeros see number