gigawatt

noun

giga·​watt ˈji-gə-ˌwät How to pronounce gigawatt (audio) ˈgi- How to pronounce gigawatt (audio)
: a unit of power equal to one billion watts

Examples of gigawatt 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.
One gigawatt can power about 320,000 Chinese households for a year. ABC News, 6 Apr. 2026 OpenAI has also committed to drawing on six gigawatts of AMD's GPUs, with the first gigawatt set to come in the second half of this year. Jordan Novet, CNBC, 6 Apr. 2026 The Philippines aims to build 100 gigawatts of solar power in the next two years, while Germany is planning to put billions toward expanding wind power and promoting EV sales. J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 6 Apr. 2026 The publication interviewed analysts at market intelligence company Sightline Climate, which in research first flagged by Ed Zitron last week noted that 12 gigawatts worth of power-consuming data centers are set to open in the US this year. Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 2 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for gigawatt

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1962, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gigawatt was circa 1962

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Cite this Entry

“Gigawatt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gigawatt. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.

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