milliwatt

M3I1L1L1I1W4A1T1T1

noun

One thousandth (10⁻³) of a watt, an amount of power that can power a small electronic device such as a single microchip. (Consuming 1 milliwatt during a duration of 1 hour consumes 1 milliwatt-hour of energy.).

“Holonyms: W, watt < kW, kilowatt < MW, megawatt < GW, gigawatt < TW, terawatt < PW, petawatt”

OriginEnglish watt ← French milli- ← Latin mīlle →
RareScrabble 14
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Meanings

nounmilliwatt (plural milliwatts)

plural milliwatts · alternative milli-watt

  1. One thousandth (10⁻³) of a watt, an amount of power that can power a small electronic device such as a single microchip. (Consuming 1 milliwatt during a duration of 1 hour consumes 1 milliwatt-hour of energy.).

    Holonyms: W, watt < kW, kilowatt < MW, megawatt < GW, gigawatt < TW, terawatt < PW, petawatt

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sem-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sm̥-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*smih₂
  4. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰes-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰéslom
  6. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰéslih₂
  7. Proto-Indo-European*smih₂ǵʰéslih₂
  8. Proto-Italic*smīɣeslī
  9. Latinmīlle
  10. Frenchmilli-
  11. Englishmilli-
  12. Englishwatt
  13. Englishmilliwatt

From milli- + watt.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 毫瓦
  • 毫瓦 (háowǎ)one thousandth of a watt
Finnish milliwatti
  • milliwattione thousandth of a watt
French milliwatt
  • milliwattone thousandth of a watt
Thai มิลลิวัตต์
  • มิลลิวัตต์one thousandth of a watt
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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