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
Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2026
The Supreme Court on April 27 appeared divided over whether Bayer can be sued for failing to warn that the company’s Roundup weed killer may cause cancer, hearing arguments in a major case that could block thousands of lawsuits and shield the company from billions of dollars in potential liability.
—Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
Banks bring in billions of dollars each year in overdraft fees, often from people who don't realize their account balance has dipped too low.
—Joshua Sidorowicz, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
Incoming Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar alleged that his predecessor’s associates are fleeing the country with billions of dollars in assets.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 27 Apr. 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 28 Apr. 2026.
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