megalitre: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C1Technical
Quick answer
What does “megalitre” mean?
A unit of volume equal to one million litres.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A unit of volume equal to one million litres.
Used primarily in the fields of water resource management, agriculture, civil engineering, and industrial chemistry to measure very large quantities of liquid.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Spelling is identical, though both British and American English may accept 'megaliter'. The British spelling '-re' is dominant, while American usage is more accepting of '-er'. Usage context is identical in both varieties.
Connotations
No significant difference in connotation; it is a neutral technical term in both.
Frequency
Equally rare in general discourse in both regions. More common in official documents, environmental reports, and engineering contexts where metric units are standard.
Grammar
How to Use “megalitre” in a Sentence
[Number] + megalitres + of + [Liquid/Noun]a capacity of + [Number] + megalitresVocabulary
Collocations
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Used in reports for water utility companies, agricultural cooperatives, or beverage manufacturers when reporting annual production or consumption figures.
Academic
Common in environmental science, hydrology, civil engineering, and agricultural science papers and textbooks.
Everyday
Virtually never used in casual conversation. A layperson might say 'millions of litres'.
Technical
The primary register. Used precisely in engineering schematics, water management plans, and chemical plant specifications.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “megalitre”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “megalitre”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “megalitre”
- Misspelling as 'megaliter' (more accepted in AmE), 'meggalitre', or 'megaliter'. Confusing with 'millilitre' or 'kilolitre'. Using it as a countable noun without 'of' (e.g., 'The tank holds 10 megalitres water' - incorrect).
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The standard symbol is 'ML' or sometimes 'Ml'.
Not in everyday use. It appears in technical, scientific, and some industrial contexts, especially where metric measurements are adopted. The US customary equivalent is 'acre-foot', often used for large water volumes.
It is pronounced MEG-uh-lee-ter, with the primary stress on the first syllable 'MEG'.
It is a unit of volume and could theoretically be used, but it is almost exclusively applied to liquids (especially water) due to its origin from the litre. For gases, cubic metres are standard.
A unit of volume equal to one million litres.
Megalitre is usually technical in register.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of MEGA as 'million' (like megabyte) and LITRE as the unit. 'Mega-litre' = a million litres.
Conceptual Metaphor
SCALE IS SIZE (a megalitre is a large-scale version of a litre).
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following is the correct definition of a megalitre?