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
Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
Americans spend billions of dollars and countless hours managing pristine, weed-free lawns surrounding their homes.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 7 Mar. 2026
The results help scientists better understand the geological differences between the near side and far side of the Moon, including variations in volcanic activity and crust formation that date back billions of years.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 7 Mar. 2026
The late 1990s buildout of fiber-optic networks, in which companies spent billions to pull dark fiber across continents and under oceans, saw borrowers like WorldCom, Global Crossing, and others go under.
—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 7 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 9 Mar. 2026.
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