billion
noun
Did you know?
How much is a billion? It might depend on whom you ask. Billion was borrowed from French in the late 1600s to indicate the number one million raised to the power of two, or a million million—a number represented by a 1 followed by 12 zeros. However, the French later changed their naming conventions so that a billion became a thousand million (a 1 followed by 9 zeros) and a trillion became a thousand thousand million (or a million million, the old billion). The French have since returned to the older system, but it was this new system that was adopted by American English speakers in the 1800s. In Britain, the newer system has seen increasing use since the 1950s, but the older sense is still sometimes used there as well.
Examples of billion in a Sentence
Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 4 May 2025
Our government continues to give Israel billions in military aid with which to carry out these atrocities.
—Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 3 May 2025
Top performers at elite firms like Citadel have earned billions in high-performing years.
—Jack Kelly, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025
Not taking commissions from outside app purchases could reduce Apple’s revenue by hundreds of millions or billions, the company estimated, according to the 80-page ruling.
—Wendy Lee, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for billion
Cite this Entry
“Billion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/billion. Accessed 19 May. 2025.
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