order of magnitude Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a degree in a continuum of size or quantity
    order.
    • it was on the order of a mile
    • an explosion of a low order of magnitude
  2. noun a number assigned to the ratio of two quantities; two quantities are of the same order of magnitude if one is less than 10 times as large as the other; the number of magnitudes that the quantities differ is specified to within a power of 10
    magnitude.

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