order of magnitude

Definitions

The class of scale or magnitude of any amount, where each class contains values of a fixed ratio (most often 10) to the class preceding it.

Equivalents

Examples

“2011, Enrico Fermi, Wikisource (translator), Concerning a Contradiction between the Electrodynamic and Relativistic Theory of Electromagnetic Mass, 1922, Enrico Fermi, Über einen Widerspruch zwischen der elektrodynamischen und relativistischen Theorie der elektromagnetischen Masse, Physikalische Zeitschrift, v 23, pp 340-344, However, we notice⟳ that although this contraction is of order⟳ of magnitude v²:c², it changes the most important terms of electromagnetic mass, i.e, the rest⟳ mass.”

“However, this pales to insignificance against the massive volume of spoken language, for with over 500 patrons, any given second of the lunch hour would result⟳ in a spoken word count⟳ in the thousands, and the whole lunch hour would see⟳ a word count⟳ orders of magnitude larger than 3000.”

CEFR level