megabyte

noun

mega·​byte ˈme-gə-ˌbīt How to pronounce megabyte (audio)
: 1024 kilobytes or 1,048,576 bytes
also : one million bytes

Examples of megabyte in a Sentence

The CD has a storage capacity of 800 megabytes.
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.
Our human compressors condensed the original images, which all clocked in around a few megabytes, down to only a few thousand bytes each, a compression ratio of some 1000-fold. Irena Hwang, IEEE Spectrum, 6 Oct. 2021 That translates into the ability to address one megabyte of memory, as compared to 64K bytes for TI’s 9900. IEEE Spectrum, 22 June 2017 The processor pushes data though a pipeline of about 140 operations at a blistering rate of 400 megabytes per second. IEEE Spectrum, 23 Nov. 2015 Trifecta has a minimal number of dependencies and clocks in at 3 megabytes of code, a fraction of the size of competing solutions. IEEE Spectrum, 26 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for megabyte

Word History

Etymology

from the fact that 1,048,576 (220) is the power of 2 closest to one million

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of megabyte was in 1965

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Megabyte.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/megabyte. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

megabyte

noun
mega·​byte ˈmeg-ə-ˌbīt How to pronounce megabyte (audio)
: 1,048,576 bytes
also : one million bytes

More from Merriam-Webster on megabyte

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!