TRIL-yuhn
/ˈtɹɪljən/
trillion is pronounced TRIL-yuhn (/ˈtɹɪljən/). Trillion refers to the number 1,000,000,000,000 (one thousand billion). It is used in mathematics and finance to denote a very large quantity, typically in formal or scientific contexts. The word emphasizes scale and magnitude and is pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable in most varieties of English.
Trillion refers to the number 1,000,000,000,000 (one thousand billion). It is used in mathematics and finance to denote a very large quantity, typically in formal or scientific contexts. The word emphasizes scale and magnitude and is pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable in most varieties of English.
"The national debt is in the trillions, not billions."
"She donated a trillion grains of sand to illustrate the magnitude of the desert."
"The estimated market cap reached a trillion dollars in the tech sector."
Pronounce it as /ˈtrɪl.jən/ in US/UK/AU. Emphasize the first syllable tril- with short /ɪ/ as in “kit,” then a light /l/ with the next syllable starting with a /j/ glide before /ən/. In rapid speech, the middle /l/ may link quickly to /j/, producing a smooth /ˈtrɪljən/. Visualize: trill + yun without a clear break.
Common errors include turning the /l/ into a dental or alveolar flap, misplacing the /j/ as a separate consonant, or reducing the second syllable too much so it sounds like /ˈtrɪljən/ vs /ˈtrɪlɪən/. Correct by ensuring the /l/ is strong, and the /j/ begins promptly after the /l/: tril-jən. Also avoid adding a strong /r/ sound in non-rhotic accents; keep it lightly rhotic in US while UK/AU stay non-rhotic in some styles.
US and UK typically share /ˈtrɪl.jən/ with primary stress on the first syllable and a /lj/ sequence between /l/ and /j/. Australian English mirrors this but may show a slightly shortened second syllable and a more centralized vowel in some speakers. In some broad accents, non-rhoticity reduces the influence of the trailing /r/; the /j/ remains a distinct palatal glide. The main variation is vowel quality and the potential for a shorter or longer middle /l/ depending on the speaker’s tempo.
The difficulty lies in the /l/ + /j/ cluster and the short, unstressed second syllable, which can blur into /-l.yən/ or /-lɪən/. The speaker must coordinate x-1: the tongue blade for /l/ at the alveolar ridge, then quickly raise the body for /j/. The unstressed second syllable also reduces vowel duration and length, making articulation faster and subtly changing vowel quality. Practice holding the /i/ quality in the first syllable while preparing the /j/ onset.
A distinctive feature is the smooth /lj/ transition from the alveolar /l/ to the palatal /j/, forming a gliding consonant cluster that does not fully separate into /l/ + /j/. This requires precise tongue shaping: tip at the alveolar ridge for /l/, blade rising toward the hard palate for /j/. Keeping the middle vowel short and crisp prevents a dull /li/ that sounds like /lɪ/; aim for a quick, light /j/ onset.
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Trillion traces to the French trillion, from Latin trillion-, trillionis, meaning a triple tier or a large quantity. The root trillion- comes from mille (thousand) repeated to signal multiplication (a thousand thousand, i.e., a million) and then extended in the 17th–18th centuries as mathematicians and scholars coined larger named numbers. In English, trillion formalized in the 17th century, with early usage referring to a million in the sense of a large, indefinite quantity, but by the 18th–19th centuries, it settled to mean 10^12 in the British system and 10^12 under the US system after the long/short scale divergence. First known uses appear in mathematical texts and dictionaries in the 1600s–1700s, reflecting the era’s appetite for systematic naming of large numbers. Over time, the term has become standard in economics, science, and technology discourse, though its exact numeric value depends on whether one uses the short-scale (US) or long-scale (historical British) convention. In contemporary usage, trillion almost always denotes 10^12 in English, particularly in US contexts, while some older British texts may still reflect 10^12 as a trillion in the long scale, causing occasional cross-continental ambiguity.
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Words that rhyme with "trillion"
-ion sounds
-me) sounds
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