BILLION

billion

(adjective) denoting a quantity consisting of one thousand million items or units in the United States

billion

(adjective) denoting a quantity consisting of one million million items or units in Great Britain

billion, one thousand million

(noun) the number that is represented as a one followed by 9 zeros

billion, one million million

(noun) the number that is represented as a one followed by 12 zeros; in the United Kingdom the usage followed in the United States is frequently seen

million, billion, trillion, zillion, jillion, gazillion, bazillion

(noun) a very large indefinite number (usually hyperbole); “there were millions of flies”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

billion (plural billions)

(US, modern British & Australian, short scale) a thousand million (logic: 1,000 Ă— 1,000^2): 1 followed by nine zeros, 109; a milliard

(dated, rare, British & Australian, long scale) A million million (logic: 1,000,000^2): a 1 followed by twelve zeros; 1012

(colloquial, hyperbole) An unspecified very large number.

Synonyms

• (109): thousand million

• (109): milliard

• (1012): trillion (short scale)

Source: Wiktionary


Bil"lion, n. Etym: [F. billion, arbitrarily formed fr. L. bis twice, in imitation of million a million. See Million.]

Definition: According to the French and American method of numeration, a thousand millions, or 1,000,000,000; according to the English method, a million millions, or 1,000,000,000,000. See Numeration.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

14 May 2025

TERNARY

(adjective) having three units or components or elements; “a ternary operation”; “a treble row of red beads”; “overcrowding made triple sessions necessary”; “triple time has three beats per measure”; “triplex windows”


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