BILLION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does billion mean? 

• BILLION (noun)
  The noun BILLION has 3 senses:

1. 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

2. a very large indefinite number (usually hyperbole)

3. the number that is represented as a one followed by 9 zeros

  Familiarity information: BILLION used as a noun is uncommon.

• BILLION (adjective)
  The adjective BILLION has 2 senses:

1. denoting a quantity consisting of one thousand million items or units in the United States

2. denoting a quantity consisting of one million million items or units in Great Britain

  Familiarity information: BILLION used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BILLION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

1000000000000; billion; one million million

Hypernyms ("billion" is a kind of...):

large integer (an integer equal to or greater than ten)

Domain region:

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)

Derivation:

billion (denoting a quantity consisting of one million million items or units in Great Britain)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A very large indefinite number (usually hyperbole)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

bazillion; billion; gazillion; jillion; million; trillion; zillion

Context example:

there were millions of flies

Hypernyms ("billion" is a kind of...):

large indefinite amount; large indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The number that is represented as a one followed by 9 zeros

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

1000000000; billion; one thousand million

Hypernyms ("billion" is a kind of...):

large integer (an integer equal to or greater than ten)

Domain region:

America; the States; U.S.; U.S.A.; United States; United States of America; US; USA (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)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "billion"):

milliard (a billion)

Derivation:

billion (denoting a quantity consisting of one thousand million items or units in the United States)

• BILLION (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Denoting a quantity consisting of one thousand million items or units in the United States

Similar:

cardinal (being or denoting a numerical quantity but not order)

Domain region:

America; the States; U.S.; U.S.A.; United States; United States of America; US; USA (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)

Derivation:

billion (the number that is represented as a one followed by 9 zeros)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Denoting a quantity consisting of one million million items or units in Great Britain

Similar:

cardinal (being or denoting a numerical quantity but not order)

Domain region:

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)

Derivation:

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)

 Context examples 

A unit of measure of organism concentration expressed in billions of organisms per unit of volume equal to one milliliter.

(Billion Organisms per Milliliter, NCI Thesaurus)

Large craters formed by asteroid impacts in the last billion years are covered by boulders and rocks, while older craters have few rocks, Diviner data showed.

(Moon Data Sheds Light on Earth’s Asteroid Impact History, NASA)

That is a billion times the mass of a protoplanetary disc.

(Thousands of Planets Could Be Orbiting around Black Holes, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

A derived unit expressed as a number or quantity of objects in billions per unit of volume equal to one liter, or the equivalent in milliliters or microliters.

(Billion per Liter, NCI Thesaurus)

An organ composed of grey and white matter containing billions of neurons that is the center for intelligence and reasoning.

(Brain, NCI Thesaurus)

A prefix indicating a quantity of one billion, 10E9.

(Giga, NCI Thesaurus)

In the course of a year, people in the United States suffer 1 billion colds.

(Cold and Cough Medicines, Food and Drug Administration)

This might help explain how Mars' water disappeared over billions of years.

(Global Storms on Mars Launch Dust Towers Into the Sky, NASA)

A unit of measure of quantity of organisms expressed in billions.

(Billion Organisms, NCI Thesaurus)

A unit of measure of organism content expressed in billions of organisms per unit of mass equal to one gram.

(Billion Organisms per Gram, NCI Thesaurus)