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
Arkansas Online, 22 Mar. 2026
Hidden ocean worlds The new study suggests that moons orbiting rogue exoplanets could sustain habitable conditions for billions of years—despite the absence of any nearby star.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 22 Mar. 2026
If dark patterns in subscriptions and video games warrant billions in penalties, what should the consequence be when the same tactics are deployed at the threshold of homeownership?
—New York Daily News, 21 Mar. 2026
The California Transportation Commission approved billions in funding for car-centric projects this week during a record-breaking March heat wave in the state fueled by climate change.
—Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for billion
Cite this Entry
“Billion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/billion. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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