noun

billet

BIH-liht

noun

Temporary lodging assigned to a soldier or, more generally, a guest staying with a private family.

"The soldiers were given a billet in a farmhouse outside town."

A short, semi-finished bar of metal.

"The factory rolled steel billets into rods."

verb

To assign lodging to soldiers or guests, typically in private homes.

"Local families billeted refugees during the crisis."

How to Use Billet

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA place assigned for someone (often soldiers) to stay, or the act of assigning such lodging.

Common pairings

billet soldiers a comfortable billet

billeted past tense, billetted past tense, billets plural, billets plural, billets plural, billets singular

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The soldiers were given a _____ in a farmhouse outside town.

From Middle English bylet, via Anglo-Norman billette ("list, schedule"), ultimately from Latin bulla ("document").

millet fillet skillet