megawatt

noun

mega·​watt ˈme-gə-ˌwät How to pronounce megawatt (audio)
: one million watts

Examples of megawatt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Even a system drawing on the order of 60 megawatts could generate a signal that, if correctly aimed at Earth, would stand out dramatically above cosmic background noise. Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 3 May 2026 The planned 10,000-megawatt build out has come under fire because the electricity will be used primarily to serve an influx of data centers. Kristi Swartz, AJC.com, 29 Apr. 2026 The 16-acre site already has 20 megawatts of data center capacity operational in service of an unnamed hyperscale customer, with the facilities being designed to support AI and cloud deployments. Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 29 Apr. 2026 Instead of data centers whose size is measured in tens of megawatts, AI facilities are reaching up to 5 GW. IEEE Spectrum, 29 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for megawatt

Word History

Etymology

mega- + watt

First Known Use

circa 1900, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of megawatt was circa 1900

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Megawatt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/megawatt. Accessed 4 May. 2026.

Medical Definition

megawatt

noun
mega·​watt ˈmeg-ə-ˌwät How to pronounce megawatt (audio)
: one million watts
abbreviation MW
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