billion

[ bil-yuhn ]

noun

, plural bil·lions, (as after a numeral) bil·lion.

1. a cardinal number represented in the U.S. by 1 followed by 9 zeros, and in Great Britain by 1 followed by 12 zeros.
2. a very large number:

   I've told you so billions of times.

adjective

1. equal in number to a billion.

billion

/ ˈbɪljən /

noun

1. one thousand million: it is written as 1 000 000 000 or 10 ⁹
2. (formerly, in Britain) one million million: it is written as 1 000 000 000 000 or 10 ¹²
3. often plural any exceptionally large number

determiner

1. preceded by a or a cardinal number
   1. amounting to a billion

      it seems like a billion years ago

   2. ( as pronoun )

      we have a billion here

Derived Forms

• ˈbillionth, adjectivenoun

Other Words From

• billionth adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of billion¹

1680–90; < French, equivalent to b ( i )- bi- ¹ + -illion, as in million

Word History and Origins

Origin of billion¹

C17: from French, from bi- ¹+ -llion as in million

Example Sentences

The figures marked an improvement compared with the $62-million loss it posted for the same period last year on $2.2 billion in revenue.

From Los Angeles Times

High blood pressure affects more than 1.3 billion people around the world.

From Science Daily

Mexican immigrants in the United States are also pillars of the Mexican economy, sending more than $60 billion annually in remittances back to their homeland.

From Los Angeles Times

Now that Musk, Ramaswamy and their allies are at the executive steering wheel, they believe that the courts will back their rollback of thousands of other policies, amounting to about $500 billion in cuts.

From Salon

Policymakers should invest in vision and creative research, because "after all, these plans will amount to billions of euros when implemented!"

From Science Daily