order of magnitude

World English Dictionary
order of magnitude
 
n
Also called: order the approximate size of something, esp measured in powers of 10: the order of magnitude of the deficit was as expected; their estimates differ by an order of magnitude

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Order of magnitude is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

order of magnitude definition


A rough measure of the size, or magnitude, of something, expressed as a power of ten: “The mass of the Earth is of the order of magnitude of 1024 kilograms.” Also, the range of values that such a rough statement applies to.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT