# billion

Pronunciation: say "BIL-yuhn" /ˈbɪljən/

## Numeral

1. A cardinal number equal to a thousand million, written as 1 followed by nine zeros (10⁹).
   - Simple: The number equal to one thousand million, written as 1 followed by nine zeros.
   - _Engineers estimated the bridge project would cost close to a billion in public funds._
   - _The galaxy contains several hundred billion stars._
2. An indefinitely large number, used loosely to mean a very great quantity rather than an exact count. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A huge number, used when you mean a whole lot but not an exact amount.
   - _She seemed to have a billion excuses ready for being late._
   - _After the storm there were a billion little repairs waiting around the house._

## Numeral

3. A million times a million: the number 1 followed by twelve zeros (10¹²), equal to a thousand milliard. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A thousand times a thousand million, written as 1 followed by twelve zeros.
   - _Older British textbooks defined a billion as a million million, written with twelve zeros._
   - _Older British textbooks define a billion as a million million, so figures quoted from them can be a thousand times larger than an American reader expects._

## Origin

From French billion, from bi- ("two") plus -illion.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/billion (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).