Prefix · one billionth / extremely tiny
Signals one billionth (10⁻⁹) or an extremely small scale: nanotechnology, nanometer, nanobot.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
Nano- comes from Greek "nanos" (dwarf) and in the International System of Units (SI) means one billionth (10⁻⁹): nanometer = one billionth of a metre (the scale of atoms and molecules); nanosecond = one billionth of a second. It is the SI power prefix that follows micro- (10⁻⁶) on the decreasing scale.
Nanotechnology = the science and engineering at the nanometre scale (1-100 nanometres). At this scale, materials exhibit physical and chemical properties different from those of bulk matter. Nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, quantum dots, and nanoparticles have applications in medicine, electronics, materials science, and energy. It is one of the most dynamic scientific fields of the twenty-first century.
Attaches to units of measurement and technical nouns. Identical in Spanish and English:
Pronunciation: /ˈnænəʊ/. Identical in Spanish and English. One nanometre = 0.000000001 metres — the scale at which atoms operate.
nano-/ˈnænəʊ/
Tap the button to hear how the prefix sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
One micrometre = 1,000 nanometres. A micrometre is already too small to see with the naked eye, but a nanometre is 1,000 times smaller still. The nano scale is the scale of atoms and molecules.
Modern computer processors operate at gigahertz speeds, performing billions of operations per second. One nanosecond is the time it takes light to travel approximately 30 centimetres — a precise, measurable quantity.
A trick to remember it
Nano- = "one billionth" in science (nanometer = 10⁻⁹ metres, nanosecond = 10⁻⁹ seconds) and "tiny" in informal use. The nanometre scale (1-100 nm) is where atoms and molecules operate. On the SI scale: kilo (x1,000) ... micro (÷1,000,000) ... nano (÷1,000,000,000).
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"Researchers are developing ___ that could one day deliver drugs directly to cancer cells inside the body."
Exercise 3 · Pick the right one
How much smaller is a nanometre compared to a micrometre?
The prefix nano- signals one billionth (10⁻⁹) or an extremely small scale: nanotechnology, nanometer, nanobot. In Spanish it usually maps to nano-.
The prefix nano- is pronounced /ˈnænəʊ/. For example, "nanometer".
"meter" becomes "nanometer". It is a typical example of the nano- prefix.
un-, re-, pre-, dis-, over-, in-... every beginning you need to unlock thousands of English words at once.