Billion: meaning, definitions and examples
๐ฐ
billion
[ หbษชljษn ]
large number
A billion is a number equal to one thousand million. It is often used in financial contexts to represent a very large sum of money or a large quantity of something.
Synonyms
1,000,000,000, thousand million.
Which Synonym Should You Choose?
| Word | Description / Examples |
|---|---|
| billion |
Commonly used in American and modern British English to denote the number 1,000,000,000. It is appropriate in scientific, financial, and general discussions when referring to large quantities or amounts.
|
| thousand million |
Most commonly used in British English, especially older texts, to refer to 1,000,000,000. It is less common today.
|
| 1,000,000,000 |
Used in mathematical contexts or when emphasizing the numeric value explicitly, often in written form.
|
Examples of usage
- There are over seven billion people in the world.
- The company made a profit of one billion dollars last year.
British English
In British English, a billion traditionally means a million million, which is equivalent to a trillion in American English and other systems.
Synonyms
1,000,000,000,000, trillion.
Which Synonym Should You Choose?
| Word | Description / Examples |
|---|---|
| billion |
Used to denote a number equal to 1,000,000,000 (one thousand million). Commonly used in financial contexts, large datasets, and scientific measurements.
|
| trillion |
Used to denote a number equal to 1,000,000,000,000 (one million million). Often used in discussions involving national debt, large-scale economics, and astronomy.
|
Examples of usage
- The British government uses the term billion to mean a million million.
Translations
Translations of the word "billion" in other languages:
๐ต๐น bilhรฃo
๐ฎ๐ณ เค เคฐเคฌ
๐ฉ๐ช Milliarde
๐ฎ๐ฉ miliar
๐บ๐ฆ ะผัะปัััะด
๐ต๐ฑ miliard
๐ฏ๐ต ๅๅ
๐ซ๐ท milliard
๐ช๐ธ mil millones
๐น๐ท milyar
๐ฐ๐ท ์ญ์ต
๐ธ๐ฆ ู ููุงุฑ
๐จ๐ฟ miliarda
๐ธ๐ฐ miliarda
๐จ๐ณ ๅไบฟ
๐ธ๐ฎ milijarda
๐ฎ๐ธ milljarรฐur
๐ฐ๐ฟ ะผะธะปะปะธะฐัะด
๐ฌ๐ช แแแแแแ แแ
๐ฆ๐ฟ milyard
๐ฒ๐ฝ mil millones
Etymology
The word 'billion' originated from French in the late 17th century, where it meant 'a million raised to the power of two'. It entered English in the early 18th century with the same meaning. Over time, the definition of billion has varied between different countries and systems, leading to differing interpretations of the term.
See also: billionaire.