- a unit of storage capacity in a computer system, equal to 1,073,741,824 (2) bytes
- loosely one billion bytes
Origin of gigabyte
giga- + byte
noun
The definition of a gigabyte is a unit of storage capacity for computer data and memory equal to about one billion bytes.
An example of a gigabyte is about 200 songs stored on an mp3 player.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"gigabyte." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte>.
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gigabyte. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte
gigabyte
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"gigabyte." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte>.
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gigabyte. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte
gigabyte
noun
- A unit of computer memory or data storage capacity equal to 1,024 megabytes (230 bytes).
- One billion bytes.
Usage Note: The usual meaning of the prefix giga- is one billion, so one would expect the term gigabyte to refer to one billion bytes. However, in describing the capacity of an electronic device that stores digital data, it often has a special meaning, referring to the power of 2 closest to one billion, which is 230, or 1,073,741,824 bytes. This special meaning comes about because storage devices use binary numbers to keep track of storage locations, and so are often designed with a number of storage locations that is a power of 2. Nonetheless, for reasons of convenience manufacturers of hard drives generally use gigabyte when they mean a rounded off sum of 1 billion bytes. In other aspects of technology, such as data transmission, where powers of 2 are less relevant, a gigabyte normally means exactly 1 billion bytes. Other prefixes, such as mega- and tera-, show a similar pattern in use.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"gigabyte." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte>.
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gigabyte. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte
- A unit of computer memory or data storage capacity equal to 1,024 megabytes (230 bytes).
- One billion bytes.
See Note at megabyte
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"gigabyte." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte>.
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gigabyte. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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"gigabyte." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte>.
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gigabyte. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte
gigabyte - Computer Definition
See GB.
Webster's New World Telecom Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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"gigabyte." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte>.
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gigabyte. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte
Equal to 230 (1,073,741,824) bytes.
See Also: Bytes.
Webster's New World Hacker Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Bernadette Schell and Clemens Martin.
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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"gigabyte." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte>.
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gigabyte. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte
(1) One billion bytes. Also GB, Gbyte and G-byte. See giga, space/time and never say.
(2) (Gigabyte Technology Company Ltd., New Taipei City, Taiwan, www.gigabyte.com) A manufacturer of x86 motherboards, graphics cards, PCs and peripherals. Gigabyte was founded by Pei-Cheng Yeh in 1986.
Computer Desktop Encyclopedia THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher. © 1981-2017 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved.
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"gigabyte." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte>.
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gigabyte. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/gigabyte
