billion

The word “billion” means a thousand million: 1,000,000,000 (10⁹), the standard modern meaning. In plain terms, the number 1,000,000,000, or loosely, "a huge number.".

“Billion” is pronounced BIHL-yuhn (/ˈbɪljən/ in IPA).

Here is “billion” used in a sentence: “The company is now worth over a billion dollars.”

“Billion” is a num.

The word “billion” comes from French. From French billion, formed from bi- ("two") plus -illion. Older British usage once meant a million million (10¹²), but the "thousand million" meaning is now standard worldwide.

“Billion” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Billion” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a thousand million: 1,000,000,000 (10⁹), the standard modern meaning.

A billion equals one thousand million, so there are exactly 1,000 millions in a single billion. Written out in full it is 1,000,000,000. Counting upward, a thousand thousands make a million, and a thousand of those millions add up to one billion.

A billion is a thousand million (10⁹), while a trillion is a thousand billion (10¹²) — a thousand times larger. In figures, a billion has nine zeros and a trillion has twelve. So a trillion dwarfs a billion in the same way a billion dwarfs a million.

Today, almost everywhere, a billion means a thousand million (10⁹) — the short-scale value used in finance and science worldwide. Historically, though, some European countries used a 'long scale' where a billion meant a million million (10¹²). The modern thousand-million meaning is now the accepted standard.

A billion has nine zeros: 1,000,000,000. You can picture it as a one followed by nine zeros, or as the numeral 1 with three groups of three zeros after it. That makes it a thousand times bigger than a million, which has six zeros.