mega
mega — adjective
1. extremely large in size, amount, or very impressive in quality — used in informa
extremely large in size, amount, or very impressive in quality — used in informal conversation to show excitement or emphasis.
Caleb threw a mega party for his thirtieth birthday with over a hundred guests.
attributive use: mega + noun (party)
The new shopping centre is absolutely mega — it has more than two hundred shops.
predicative use: be mega after linking verb
Noor got a mega bonus after finishing the project two months ahead of schedule.
That concert was mega; the main band played for nearly three hours.
The company reported a mega profit in the last quarter of the year.
文法句型
be mega
mega + noun
用法筆記
Frequently used in casual speech and social media, but rarely in formal or academic writing.
常見錯誤
mega — combining form
1. used before a noun to describe a physical structure, place, or facility that is
used before a noun to describe a physical structure, place, or facility that is much larger or more powerful than the usual kind — for example, a megacity, a megastore, or a megadam.
Tokyo is a true megacity with over thirty-seven million residents.
mega- + city: describing an extremely large urban area
A new megastore opened near our house, selling everything from books to furniture.
The country's first megadam can supply electricity to millions of homes.
The construction of a new megaport will change trade routes across the region.
A megafarm in Nebraska produces enough grain to feed a small country.
- mini
the opposite combining form for small-scale things (minicity, ministore)
文法句型
mega- + noun (structures, places, facilities)
用法筆記
Forms compound nouns without a hyphen (megacity, megastore). Unlike the prefix sense, this combining form attaches to ordinary nouns for places and structures rather than scientific units.
常見錯誤
2. used before a noun to describe a person, product, or event that is far more succ
used before a noun to describe a person, product, or event that is far more successful or famous than any others in the same category — for example, a megastar, a megahit, or a megaseller.
Élise became a true megastar after her latest album sold ten million copies.
mega- + star: a performer who surpasses all others in fame
The film was a megahit, earning over a billion dollars worldwide.
The company's new gadget became a megaseller during the holiday season.
Within months of its release, the designer's handbag collection became a megahit across Asia.
- super
used in similar compounds (superstar, superhit); slightly less emphatic
- top
can be used as a modifier (top star, top seller); not a combining form
- blockbuster
only used of films, shows, or products; more informal
文法句型
mega- + noun (people, products, events)
用法筆記
Frequently used in entertainment and marketing contexts. A megastar has achieved the highest level of fame; a megahit has had extraordinary commercial success. Distinguish from LARGE-SCALE sense (sense 1), which describes physical size rather than exceptional quality or success.
常見錯誤
3. used before a noun of measurement to mean one million (10⁶) of that unit — most
used before a noun of measurement to mean one million (10⁶) of that unit — most often in computing terms such as megabyte and megapixel.
Each photo on my phone takes up about three megabytes of storage space.
megabyte: one million bytes of digital data
The new camera has a resolution of two hundred megapixels.
This video game is over fifty gigabytes, not just a few megabytes.
The file is five hundred kilobytes — that is half of one megabyte.
文法句型
mega- + noun (byte, pixel, hertz)
用法筆記
In computing, one megabyte can be either 1,000,000 bytes (decimal) or 1,048,576 bytes (binary), depending on context. For most everyday usage, the simple 'one million' meaning is sufficient. Distinguish from the MEASUREMENT UNIT prefix sense (prefix/1), which is used with formal scientific units (hertz, watt) rather than digital data terms.
常見錯誤
mega — prefix
1. used before a scientific unit to mean one million (10⁶) times that unit — for ex
used before a scientific unit to mean one million (10⁶) times that unit — for example, megahertz (one million hertz) or megawatt (one million watts).
The radio station broadcasts at a frequency of ninety-eight megahertz.
megahertz: one million hertz, used for radio frequencies
A typical lightning strike releases about one thousand megawatts of power.
Daichi calculated that the signal was transmitted at four hundred megahertz.
The power station can generate five hundred megawatts of electricity each hour.
- micro
the opposite SI prefix meaning one-millionth
文法句型
mega- + unit of measurement (hertz, watt, ton)
用法筆記
This is a standard SI (International System of Units) prefix and is used in formal scientific and engineering writing. Unlike the combining form MILLION UNITS sense (combining form/3), which is mainly used with digital data terms, this prefix attaches to formal measurement units across physics and engineering.
常見錯誤
2. used before a noun to describe an event, business agreement, or project of extra
used before a noun to describe an event, business agreement, or project of extraordinarily large scale or importance — for example, a megadeal, a megaproject, or a megamerger.
The government announced a megaproject to build high-speed rail across the island.
megaproject: a project of extraordinary scale and investment
Hassan signed a megacontract with a major sports brand worth millions.
The merger was a megadeal that changed the entire banking industry.
The two companies announced a megamerger valued at over thirty billion dollars.
- mega- (LARGE-SCALE sense)
combining form/1 covers physical structures; this prefix covers abstract business and project entities
文法句型
mega- + noun (deal, project, merger, contract)
用法筆記
Common in business news and media reporting. Unlike the LARGE-SCALE combining form sense (combining form/1), which refers to physical structures (megacity, megastore), this prefix attaches to nouns for agreements, events, and projects.