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
Dr. Sai Balasubramanian, M.d., Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
The accreditation process has broad implications since the government uses it to determine which schools are allowed to participate in federal student aid programs, which distribute billions in student loans and grants.
—Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2025
In the past, this has meant spending billions of dollars for a plant changeover or even dual production of older and newer models of the same vehicles.
—Michael Wayland, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2025
The wind industry also employs roughly 4,000 people across the state and draws billions of dollars in capital investments.
—Benji Jones, Vox, 22 Apr. 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 1 May. 2025.
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