billion

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bil·lion

 (bĭl′yən)
n.
1. The cardinal number equal to 109.
2. Chiefly British The cardinal number equal to 1012.
3. An indefinitely large number.

[French, a million million : blend of bi-, second power; see bi-1 and million.]

bil′lion adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

billion

(ˈbɪljən)
n, pl -lions or -lion
1. (Mathematics) one thousand million: it is written as 1 000 000 000 or 109
2. (Mathematics) (formerly, in Britain) one million million: it is written as 1 000 000 000 000 or 1012
3. (often plural) any exceptionally large number
determiner
(preceded by a or a cardinal number)
a. amounting to a billion: it seems like a billion years ago.
b. (as pronoun): we have a billion here.
[C17: from French, from bi-1 + -llion as in million]
ˈbillionth adj, n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bil•lion

(ˈbɪl yən)

n., pl. -lions, (as after a numeral) -lion, n.
1. a cardinal number represented by 1 followed by 9 zeroes; a thousand millions.
2. (in Great Britain) a cardinal number represented by 1 followed by 12 zeroes; a million millions.
3. any vaguely large number: I've told you a billion times.
adj.
4. equal in number to a billion.
[1680–90; < French]
bil′lionth, adj., n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

billion

A billion is a thousand million, or 1,000,000,000.

The website gets almost a billion visits each month.

Be Careful!
Don't add '-s' to billion when you put another number in front of it.

In January 1977, there were 4 billion people in the world.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

billion

(bil) A number equal to 109.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.billion - the number that is represented as a one followed by 12 zeros; in the United Kingdom the usage followed in the United States is frequently seen
Britain, Great Britain, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; `Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom
large integer - an integer equal to or greater than ten
2.billion - a very large indefinite number (usually hyperbole); "there were millions of flies"
large indefinite amount, large indefinite quantity - an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude
3.billion - the number that is represented as a one followed by 9 zeros
U.S.A., United States, United States of America, US, USA, America, the States, U.S. - North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776
large integer - an integer equal to or greater than ten
milliard - a billion; "in England they call one thousand million a milliard"
Adj.1.billion - denoting a quantity consisting of one thousand million items or units in the United States
U.S.A., United States, United States of America, US, USA, America, the States, U.S. - North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776
cardinal - being or denoting a numerical quantity but not order; "cardinal numbers"
2.billion - denoting a quantity consisting of one million million items or units in Great Britain
Britain, Great Britain, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; `Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom
cardinal - being or denoting a numerical quantity but not order; "cardinal numbers"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
بليونمليارمِلْيَار
biliómiliard
miliardamiliardyv počtu bilionubilionbilión
milliardbillion
duilionomiliardo
miljard
miljardibiljoona
milijarda
GB billiómilliárd
biljón ; miljarîurbiljón; miljarîur
10億
10억
bilijonasbilijonas doleriųbilijonas svarųbilijoninismilijardas
miljarda-miljardsmiljardu-
miliard
biliónbiliónovýmiliardamiliardový
milijarda
miljardbiljon
พันล้าน
milyarmilyontrilyonbir milyar dolar/sterlin
مِلْيُن
tỷ

billion

[ˈbɪlɪən] N (billion or billions (pl)) (= thousand million) → mil millones mpl (Brit) (o.f.) (= million million) → billón m
I've told you a billion timeste lo he dicho infinidad de veces
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

billion

[ˈbɪljən] n
(= one thousand million) → milliard m
(British) (= one million million) → billion m (million de millions)
billions of (= a huge number of) → des milliards de
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

billion

nMilliarde f; (dated Brit) → Billion f; billions of … (inf)tausende or Tausende von …
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

billion

[ˈbɪljən] nmiliardo (Brit) (old) → mille miliardi
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

billion

(ˈbiljən) plurals ˈbillion (1 ~3), ˈbillions (2, ~3) – noun
1. often in the United Kingdom, the number 1,000,000,000,000; in the United States, and often in the United Kingdom, the number 1,000,000,000. a billion; several billion.
2. often in the United Kingdom, the figure 1,000,000,000,000; in the United States, and often in the United Kingdom, the figure 1,000,000,000.
3. a billion pounds or dollars. The sum involved amounts to several billion(s).
adjective
often in the United Kingdom, 1,000,000,000,000 in number; in the United States and often in the United Kingdom, 1,000,000,000 in number. a few billion stars.
billionaire (ˌbiljəˈneə(r)) noun
a very rich person who has more than a billion dollars, pounds etc. He's not just a millionaire – he's a billionaire!
ˈbillionth noun
one of a billion equal parts.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

billion

مِلْيَار miliarda milliard Milliarde δισεκατομμύριο billón, mil millones miljardi milliard milijarda miliardo 10億 10억 miljard milliard miliard bilhão, bilião миллиард miljard พันล้าน milyar tỷ 十亿
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
It was about a humorous lecturer who flooded an ignorant audience with the killingest jokes for an hour and never got a laugh; and then when he was leaving, some gray simpletons wrung him gratefully by the hand and said it had been the funniest thing they had ever heard, and "it was all they could do to keep from laughin' right out in meetin'." That anecdote never saw the day that it was worth the telling; and yet I had sat under the telling of it hundreds and thousands and millions and billions of times, and cried and cursed all the way through.
as if I wouldn't trust you with millions of billions if I had them," cried Rose, scandalised at the mere suggestion.
And yet what is that compared with the distance of the fixed stars, some of which, such as Arcturus, are billions of miles distant from us?
"Countless billions died before the first black man broke through his prison walls into the light of day.
After breakfast the men set out to hunt, while the women went to a large pool of warm water covered with a green scum and filled with billions of tadpoles.
We will say labor buys back two billions. Then it stands to reason that labor can consume only two billions.
This fluid mass comprises two billions two hundred and fifty millions of cubic miles, forming a spherical body of a diameter of sixty leagues, the weight of which would be three quintillions of tons.
The distances in heaven are billions of times greater; angels have to go all over heaven every day; could they do it with their wings alone?
Now the sights and sounds of this ceremony are broadcast instantaneously to billions around the world.
Third, that the charge should contain 400,000 pounds of gun-cotton, which, giving out six billions of litres of gas in rear of the projectile, would easily carry it toward the orb of night.
I wouldn' lay de weight er my finger on um, not f'r ten hund'd thous'n billion dollars, I wouldn't."
By the toll of a billion deaths man has bought his birthright of the earth, and it is his against all comers; it would still be his were the Martians ten times as mighty as they are.