billion

Meanings

1. 1
   num

   The number 1,000,000,000; one thousand million.

   The company is worth over a billion dollars.

2. 2
   noun

   A very large but unspecified number.

   I've told you a billion times to lock the door.

Simplified etymology

Billion was formed in French, apparently from bi- “two” to denote the second power of a million, and is recorded in English from the late 17th century. In English it formerly meant a million million, while in the United States from the mid-19th century it meant a thousand million; the American value is now the usual one.

From French billion, equivalent to bi- (“two”) + -illion.

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary