noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
US:/ˈmɛɡəˌtʌn/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:M EH1 G AH0 T AH2 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A measure of the strength of an explosion or a bomb based on how many million tons of TNT would be needed to produce the same energy. (A derived unit for TNT equivalent.)
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
One million tons.
One million long tons (106 × 2240 lb).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
One million tons.
One million metric tons (106 × 2204.6 lb).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
Holonym: gigaton
Meronym: kiloton
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
a measure of explosive power (of an atomic weapon) equal to that of one million tons of TNT
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: explosive unit
6
noun
Meaning 6
one million tons
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: avoirdupois unit
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *méǵh2s Proto-Hellenic *mégas Ancient Greek μέγᾰς (mégăs)der. English mega- English ton English megaton From mega- + ton.
Across languages
Translations
11 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Chinese Mandarin:
兆噸 /兆吨
(zhàodūn)
— unit of measure