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
Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 10 Jan. 2026
In Pluribus, Seehorn plays Carol Sturka, a romance author who is one of only 13 people immune to an alien virus that turned billions of people into an eerily happy collective hive mind.
—Brian Anthony Hernandez, PEOPLE, 10 Jan. 2026
Trump revives campaign pledge to cap credit card interest rates at 10%, potentially saving Americans billions.
—Ken Sweet, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2026
Those battle lines appeared to persist when the House and Senate announced a plan for a state budget that would include billions in tax relief.
—Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald, 10 Jan. 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 13 Jan. 2026.
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