# megabyte

Pronunciation: US say "MEG-uh-byt" /ˈmɛɡəˌbaɪt/; UK

## Noun

1. A unit of digital information equal to one million bytes (1,000,000), or one thousand kilobytes.
   - Simple: A unit of computer data equal to one million bytes, or one thousand kilobytes.
   - _Each high-resolution image from the camera occupies roughly five megabytes._
   - _A single megabyte can hold about a minute of compressed audio._
2. A unit of digital information equal to 1,048,576 bytes (2²⁰), the binary value often meant in informal computing usage. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A unit of computer data equal to 1,048,576 bytes: a little more than one million.
   - _Memory chips come in powers of two, so each megabyte holds 1,048,576 bytes._
   - _The operating system reported the file as four megabytes, counting 1,048,576 bytes per unit._

## Origin

Formed from the prefix "mega-" combined with "byte".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/megabyte (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).