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
Eric Lagatta, AZCentral.com, 26 Dec. 2025
Flojaune Cofer, who ran for Sacramento mayor, said the investment of billions of dollars was unnecessary for the facility.
—Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 26 Dec. 2025
The hosts discuss the growing chorus of people that believe states and counties should not give billions to sports teams for their stadiums and arenas, and why that doesn’t seem to be slowing the cadence of deals like this.
—Scott Soshnick, Sportico.com, 25 Dec. 2025
Zelenskyy said billions in investments are needed to make the plant run again, including restoring the adjacent dam.
—Arkansas Online, 25 Dec. 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 27 Dec. 2025.
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