Pronunciation

/bɪˈlɪən/

Definitions

• Noun: A unit of measurement equal to 1,000,000,000 (one thousand million). In British English, it is also used as a short form for “billionth.” For example: “The company’s revenue exceeded a billion dollars last year.”
• Numeral: A large number representing a multiple of a thousand million. For example: “There are five billion stars in the observable universe.”

Phrases

• “In billions” or “billions of” is used to indicate a very large quantity.
• “Global population is approaching ten billion.”
• “A billion-dollar deal”

Example Sentences

• Noun: “The charity aims to raise a billion dollars for medical research.”
• Numeral: “The construction project will employ over a billion workers worldwide.”
• “The movie has grossed over a billion at the box office.”

Synonyms

• Thousand million
• Gigantic number
• Terabyte (informal, in computing context)
• Billions and billions (informal, from “The Simpsons”)

Notes

• The usage of “billion” as a noun and as a numeral can cause confusion, as it can refer to either 1,000,000,000 (short scale) or 1,000,000,000,000 (long scale) depending on the country. In the United States, it generally means short scale, while most other English-speaking countries use the long scale.