billing

[ bil-ing ]

noun

1. the relative position in which a performer or act is listed on handbills, posters, etc.:

   A star usually receives billing above the title of the play.

2. advertising; publicity:

   The show was a sellout weeks ahead of the opening because of advance billing.

3. the amount of business done by a firm, especially an advertising agency, within a specified period of time.
4. an act or instance of preparing or sending out a bill or invoice.
5. the total amount of the cost of goods or services billed bill billed to a customer, usually covering purchases made or services rendered within a specified period of time.

billing

/ ˈbɪlɪŋ /

noun

1. theatre the relative importance of a performer or act as reflected in the prominence given in programmes, advertisements, etc
2. public notice or advertising (esp in the phrase advance billing )

Word History and Origins

Origin of billing¹

First recorded in 1870–75; bill ¹ + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Lloyd, a British theater director with continental European ways, receives prominent billing onstage as the production’s credits roll as they would for a movie.

From Los Angeles Times

A defense that was supposed to be the Bruins’ strength did not live up to its billing.

From Los Angeles Times

And the conditions lived up to the billing, with 60- to 80-mph gusts slamming the foothills of Moorpark and Camarillo.

From Los Angeles Times

He will be top billing at the party’s Welsh conference in Newport on Friday, just a day after flying home from the United States having supported Donald Trump’s successful presidential campaign.

From BBC

Trump’s campaign is billing the appearance as a marquee event in the closing days of the campaign.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• attention
• clout
• commercial
• distribution
• fame
• hoopla
• hype
• noise
• notoriety
• propaganda