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
Lucy Handley, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2025
And a new trade deal reached with Lee would see South Korea invest billions of dollars in the US, including in shipbuilding, aerospace and technology, according to the White House.
—Helen Regan, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
This week, Public Investment Fund’s AI unit HUMAIN struck billions of dollars in deals to build out the kingdom’s AI infrastructure and software ecosystem.
—Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 31 Oct. 2025
There were billions of dollars being bet on soccer in regulated and unregulated markets alike, on nearly every continent.
—David Hill, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for billion
Cite this Entry
“Billion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/billion. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share