megabyte

meg·a·byte

 (mĕg′ə-bīt′)

n. Abbr. MB

1. A unit of computer memory or data storage capacity equal to 1,048,576 (2²⁰) bytes.

2. One million bytes. See Usage Note at gigabyte.

megabyte

(ˈmɛɡəˌbaɪt)

n

(Units) computing 2²⁰ or 1 048 576 bytes. Abbreviation: MB or mbyte See also mega-²

meg•a•byte

(ˈmɛg əˌbaɪt)

n. Computers.

1. 2²⁰ (1,048,576) bytes; 1024 kilobytes.

2. 10⁶, or one million (1,000,000), bytes; 1000 kilobytes. Abbr.: MB

[1965–70]

meg·a·byte

(mĕg′ə-bīt′)

1. A unit of computer memory or data storage capacity equal to 1,024 kilobytes (2²⁰ bytes).

2. One million bytes.

Usage Usually the prefix kilo- means "one thousand," and the prefix mega- means "one million." But in the calculation of data storage these prefixes have a different meaning. Data storage capacity (measured in bytes) is based on powers of 2 because of the binary nature of bits (1 byte is 8, or 2³, bits). Here, the prefix mega- refers to the power of 2 closest to 1,000,000, which is 2²⁰, or 1,048,576. Thus, a megabyte is 1,048,576 bytes, although it is also used less technically to refer to a million bytes. Similarly, the prefix kilo- refers either to 1,000 or to 2¹⁰ (1,024). Measuring the transmission of data is somewhat different from measuring its storage. Since a bit of transmitted data is considered as one signal pulse rather than an either/or unit, it is natural to count transmitted bits using ordinary numbers instead of the binary system. Thus a megabyte of transmitted data usually refers to a million (not 1,048,576) bits. Other prefixes for greater amounts, such as giga- and tera-, follow similar rules for data storage and transmission.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	megabyte - a unit of information equal to 1000 kilobytes or 10^6 (1,000,000) bytes MB, M computer memory unit - a unit for measuring computer memory kilobyte, kB, K - a unit of information equal to 1000 bytes gigabyte, GB, G - a unit of information equal to 1000 megabytes or 10^9 (1,000,000,000) bytes
	2.	megabyte - a unit of information equal to 1024 kibibytes or 2^20 (1,048,576) bytes mebibyte, MiB, MB, M computer memory unit - a unit for measuring computer memory KiB, kibibyte, kilobyte, kB, K - a unit of information equal to 1024 bytes GiB, gibibyte, gigabyte, GB, G - a unit of information equal to 1024 mebibytes or 2^30 (1,073,741,824) bytes

Translations

mégaoctet

megabyte

MBmegabyte

megabyte

[ˈmegəˌbaɪt] N (Comput) → megabyte m, mega m

megabyte

[ˈmɛgəbaɪt] n → méga-octet m, mégaoctet m

megabyte

n (Comput) → Megabyte nt; a 40-megabyte memory → ein 40-Megabyte-Speicher m

megabyte

[ˈmɛgəˌbaɪt] n → megabyte m inv