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
Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
The federal lawsuit filed in Detroit on behalf of four UWM borrowers in North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee accused the lender of costing borrowers billions of dollars.
—Catherine Reagor, The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
Additionally, the ban may intensify extremism and lead to billions of dollars in economic losses.
—Enayat Nasir, The Conversation, 11 Apr. 2024
Given the massive price tag of climate disasters and governments’ adaptation costs, experts say the lawsuits could put the oil industry on the hook for many billions of dollars.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024
Moments after the Dali struck it, the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed into Patapsco River, killing at least six construction workers, likely causing billions of dollars in damage and forever altering the Baltimore skyline.
—USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024
Other stories began to circulate about billions of dollars in secret bank accounts.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Huang says consumer water bills may go up eventually, but the federal government has dedicated billions of dollars for PFAS removal as a first resort.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 10 Apr. 2024
In response, governments have pledged to spend billions to bring chip making to their shores.
—John Liu, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'billion.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near billion
Cite this Entry
“Billion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/billion. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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