billon

noun

bil·​lon ˈbi-lən How to pronounce billon (audio)
1
: gold or silver heavily alloyed with a less valuable metal
2
: an alloy of silver containing more than 50 percent of copper by weight

Examples of billon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Moore’s Law: 2.5x Maintaining the progress of Moore’s Law is the subject of billons and billions of dollars of investment, some very complex engineering, and a bunch of international angst. IEEE Spectrum, 7 Sep. 2023 Winning Powerball ticket sold in CA:See winning numbers for $1 billon jackpot When is the next Mega Millions drawing? Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 20 July 2023 An estimated $18-20 billon While the extent of Idalia's destruction remains to be seen, an AccuWeather report estimates the storm is already responsible for $18 billion to $20 billion in damage. Cecilia Garzella, USA TODAY, 30 Aug. 2023 The pricing changes that have already been made helped Netflix boost its second-quarter revenue by 3% from the same time last year to $8.2 billon, falling below analyst forecasts. Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 19 July 2023 Congressional leaders unveiled a $1.7 trillion spending package early Tuesday that includes another large round of aid to Ukraine, a nearly 10% boost in defense spending and roughly $40 billon to assist communities across the country recovering from drought, hurricanes and other natural disasters. Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 21 Dec. 2022 Today, those numbers are 334.94 million and 7.97 billon, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 22 June 2023 Since the beginning of 2021, the semiconductor industry has announced $80 billon in new projects in the U.S., according to the White House. Mark Williams, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2022 Japan in December adopted a new National Security Strategy, setting a goal of doubling defense spending to 43 trillion yen ($310 billon) over the next five years to fund a military buildup. Mari Yamaguchi, ajc, 9 June 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'billon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French, from Middle French, from bille log — more at billet

First Known Use

1716, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of billon was in 1716

Dictionary Entries Near billon

Cite this Entry

“Billon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/billon. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.

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