Etymology Borrowed from French trillion, from French tri- (“three”) + -illion, equivalent to tri- + -illion. The noun was coined by American basketball player Harvey Pollack, because of the way the numbers read across a basketball box score.
› Either of two large amounts:
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Australia, UK, US, Modern A million (times a) million: 1 followed by twelve zeros, 10¹².
Javik: Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honor matters. Their silence is your answer.2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3: From Ashes (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, PC, scene: Normandy SR-2:
Data published by the Treasury Department showed that “total public debt outstanding” rose to $34.001 trillion on December 29.2024 January 3, Hanna Ziady, Tami Luhby, “US national debt hits record $34 trillion”, in CNN, archived from the original on 27 Mar 2024:
1 more example
As President Donald Trump prepares to order the dismantling of the Department of Education, the financial arm of the agency – which makes loans directly to borrowers and manages trillions of dollars in student debt – faces an uncertain future, with steep staff cuts and lack of communication exacerbating the uncertainty, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former department employees.2025 March 7, Kayla Tausche, “Dismantling of Education Department puts future of trillions of dollars in student loans in question”, in CNN, archived from the original on 15 Apr 2025:
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Australia, UK, Dated A million (times a) million (times a) million: 1 followed by eighteen zeros, 10¹⁸.
Etymology Borrowed from French trillion, from French tri- (“three”) + -illion, equivalent to tri- + -illion. The noun was coined by American basketball player Harvey Pollack, because of the way the numbers read across a basketball box score.
1
Ball games, Basketball, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, SportsSlang A statistic formed by a player playing some number of minutes, but recording no stats.