mega-

/ˈmɛɡə//meɪ̯ɡə/

prefix

Very large, great.

“Near-synonyms: million, M”

Similar
megalo-megal-millionmul:Mmeg-super-supra-hyper-
Opposite
micro-
OriginAncient Greek μέγᾰς (mégăs) ← Proto-Hellenic *mégas ← Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s →
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Meanings

prefix
  1. originallyVery large, great.

    Synonyms: megalo-, megal-

  2. In the International System of Units and other metric systems of units, multiplying the unit to which it is attached by one million (10⁶).

    Near-synonyms: million, M

    Synonyms: million, mul:M

  3. computingMultiplying the unit to which it is attached by 2²⁰ (= 1,048,576, the binary number closest to a million). Computing symbol: Mi.
  4. businessMultiplying the unit to which it is attached by 2¹⁰ × 10³ (= 1,024,000, the binary round number closest to a million).
  5. augmentativeslangReally, very, uber-, super-.

    What?! I'm not sure if I scream that out loud or if my inner voice bounces off the insides of my skull. Why is Archie once again meandering over to Team Nadine? Sounds like I'm not the only one who's mega-confused.

    2014, Michael Griffo, Starfall (The Darkborn Legacy), New York, NY: Kensington Publishing Corporation, →ISBN, pages 93–94

Synonyms & antonyms

prefixVery large, great.

Similar
megalo-megal-

prefixIn the International System of Units and other metric systems of units, multiplying the unit to which it is attached by one million (10⁶).

Similar
millionmul:M
Similar
meg-super-supra-hyper-ultra-uber-arch-over-giga--zillagrand
Opposite
micro-
Also see
arch-giga-grandgreathyper-largemacro-megalo-millionover-super-supra-uber-ultra--zilla

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*méǵh₂s
  2. Proto-Hellenic*mégas
  3. Ancient Greekμέγᾰς (mégăs)
  4. Englishmega-

From Ancient Greek μέγας (mégas, “great, large, mighty”), from Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂s (“great”). Cognate with Latin magnus, Sanskrit मह (maha, “great, massive, large-scale, epic”), and with Germanic words: Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌺𐌹𐌻𐍃 (mikils), Old English micel, Middle English muchel, English much, Old High German mihhil, Old Norse mikill, Danish meget.

More words from Ancient Greek, Proto-Indo-European

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian мега-, мега-
  • мега- (mega-)very large, great
  • мега- (mega-)multiplication factor one million
Catalan mega-, mega-
  • mega-very large, great
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Chinese Cantonese 兆-
  • 兆- (siu⁶)multiplication factor one million
Chinese Mandarin 兆-, 百萬- /百万-
  • 兆- (zhào-)multiplication factor one million
  • 百萬- /百万- (bǎiwàn-)multiplication factor one million
Czech mega-
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Danish mega-
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Dutch mega-, mega-
  • mega-very large, great
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Estonian mega-, mega-
  • mega-very large, great
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Finnish mega-, jätti-
  • mega-very large, great
  • jätti-very large, great
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
French méga-, méga-
  • méga-very large, great
  • méga-multiplication factor one million
German mega-
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Greek μεγα-, μεγα-
  • μεγα- (mega-)very large, great
  • μεγα- (mega-)multiplication factor one million
Hebrew מֶגָה, מֶגָ־
  • מֶגָה (méga)very large, great
  • מֶגָ־ (méga-)very large, great
  • מֶגָה (méga)multiplication factor one million
  • מֶגָ־ (méga-)multiplication factor one million
Hungarian mega-
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Indonesian maha-, mega-
  • maha-very large, great
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Italian mega-, mega-
  • mega-very large, great
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Japanese 超, 巨大
  • 超 (chō)very large, great
  • 巨大 (kyodai)very large, great
  • メガ (mega)multiplication factor one million
Korean 메가-
  • 메가- (mega-)multiplication factor one million
Latvian mega-
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Malay mega-
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Norwegian Bokmål mega-
  • mega-very large, great
Polish mega-, mega-
  • mega-very large, great
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Portuguese mega-, mega-
  • mega-very large, great
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Romanian mega-
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Russian ме́га-, ме́га-
  • ме́га- (méga-)very large, great
  • ме́га- (méga-)multiplication factor one million
Slovak mega-
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Spanish mega-, mega-
  • mega-very large, great
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Swedish mega-
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Thai เมกะ-
  • เมกะ- (mee-ga)multiplication factor one million
Turkish mega-
  • mega-multiplication factor one million
Vietnamese mê-ga
  • mê-gamultiplication factor one million
Cite this entry
APA

mega-. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mega-

MLA

“mega-.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mega-. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mega-,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mega-.

Source: mega- on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.