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
Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 31 Jan. 2026
California voters have also approved tens of billions of dollars in borrowing over the last 20 years that the state’s Constitution requires be paid back from the general fund.
—Lanhee J. Chen, Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2026
Auditors and prosecutors say hospice fraud in Los Angeles is off the charts, with providers scamming billions from taxpayers for patients that don't exist, poor care and no care.
—William La Jeunesse, FOXNews.com, 30 Jan. 2026
China invested billions in the country’s infrastructure and purchased most of its oil under the Maduro regime.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 30 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 3 Feb. 2026.
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