What does bajillion mean?
Bajillion is an informal English noun used to describe an enormously large but deliberately unspecified quantity. It belongs to a family of playful pseudo-numbers — alongside zillion, gazillion, bazillion, and jillion — that imitate the sound of real numerical terms such as million and billion while carrying no actual mathematical value. Speakers reach for it when precision is unnecessary and emphasis matters more than accuracy: 'I've watched that movie a bajillion times' conveys enthusiasm far better than a specific count would. The word is firmly rooted in casual register, appearing frequently in conversation, comedy, advertising, and informal writing, but it is out of place in academic, legal, or scientific contexts. Its charm lies precisely in its vagueness — a bajillion can mean ten thousand or ten trillion depending on the speaker's mood. For anyone wanting to express overwhelming quantity with humor and energy, bajillion offers a vivid, instantly understood shorthand.
nounAn indefinitely large, exaggerated number; an informal, humorous way of saying 'a huge amount' without any precise numerical value.
- An indefinitely large number used for humorous exaggeration, as in 'I've asked you a bajillion times.'
"I've told you a bajillion times not to leave your shoes in the hallway."
"My phone has a bajillion apps I never use."
"She claims she's read this book a bajillion times, yet still finds new details."
Often used with 'of' to emphasize vastness: 'bajillions of stars'.
"The night sky seemed to hold bajillions of stars."
A bajillion is technically worth nothing at all — it's one of those numbers that exists purely to be enormous.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bajillion
Bajillion emerged in twentieth-century American English as part of a wave of invented '-illion' words modeled on genuine large-number terms like million, billion, and trillion. It follows the same pattern as related playful coinages such as zillion, gazillion, and bazillion, all of which borrow the '-illion' suffix while discarding any real numerical meaning. The word spread through colloquial American usage and later gained wider currency in British English as well.
How bajillion is actually used
Strictly informal and colloquial; avoid in formal writing or technical contexts. Common in speech, humor, and casual prose. The word carries a playful, hyperbolic tone rather than any literal mathematical meaning.
Easily confused with bajillion
'Brillion' is a rare proper noun and place name in Wisconsin, whereas 'bajillion' is an informal noun meaning a vast, unspecified number.