billion

American  

[bil-yuhn] / ˈbɪl yən /

noun

plural

billions,

plural

billion

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.

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adjective

1. equal in number to a billion.

billion British  

/ 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

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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

Other Word Forms

• billionth adjective

Etymology

Origin of billion

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

Compare meaning

How does billion compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• billion vs. trillion

Example Sentences

Intel said it would fund the purchase through a combination of cash on hand and about $6.5 billion in new debt issuances.

From The Wall Street Journal

Nike’s overall quarterly sales of $11.3 billion beat Wall Street expectations, with sales ticking up in North America and Europe.

From The Wall Street Journal

Meta, Block, Amazon, Salesforce and other tech giants have continued to lay off their workers even as they hire for other roles and spend billions of dollars on AI data centers and products.

From Los Angeles Times

It is planning a record initial public offering that could raise up to $75 billion.

From Barron's

Cliffwater also recently sold an interest in a roughly $1 billion loan portfolio that it will continue to manage, people familiar with the matter said.

From The Wall Street Journal