billion
billion — number
1. the whole number written as 1,000,000,000 — that is, a thousand groups of one mi
the whole number written as 1,000,000,000 — that is, a thousand groups of one million.
Earth is home to about eight billion people in 2024.
number + billion + plural noun
The new bridge in Tokyo cost nearly two billion dollars to build.
billion + currency + plural noun
Camille learned that the Sun is around four and a half billion years old.
The tech company reached one billion users last March.
The national library archive now holds well over a billion digital files.
文法句型
a/one billion + plural noun
number + billion + plural noun
用法筆記
Always followed by a plural noun without 's' on 'billion' itself: 'two billion dollars', NOT 'two billions dollars'. The plural form 'billions' only appears in sense 2 (with 'of').
常見錯誤
2. an extremely large but not exact amount, used as exaggeration to stress how huge
an extremely large but not exact amount, used as exaggeration to stress how huge a quantity feels.
Nikolai said he had told his sister to clean her room billions of times.
billions of + plural noun for exaggeration
On clear desert nights, you can see billions of stars above your head.
billions of + plural noun
The bakery has billions and billions of tiny crumbs all over the floor.
Aiko complained that there were billions of mosquitoes by the lake last summer.
- a handful
the opposite idea — only a few items.
文法句型
billions of + plural noun
billions and billions of + plural noun
用法筆記
Always plural ('billions of') in this sense, never 'a billion' or 'one billion'. Sounds informal and emotional; in formal writing, prefer 'a huge number of' or give a real figure.
常見錯誤
3. a real but rough quantity in the range of several thousand million up to nearly
a real but rough quantity in the range of several thousand million up to nearly a million million, used when the speaker means an actual large figure rather than a wild guess.
The oil company earned billions of dollars during the war years.
billions of + currency in finance
The Brazilian government spent billions of reais on the new highway network.
billions of + currency
Samsung and Apple together sell billions of smartphones to customers worldwide every year.
The charity has helped billions of people get clean drinking water.
- billions of
same range; this is the standard form used with currency and countable nouns.
文法句型
billions of + currency
billions of + countable plural noun
用法筆記
Subject is often a company, government, or industry. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense gives a real (if rough) numerical scale; sense 2 is pure exaggeration. If the speaker means an actual financial figure, this is the sense in play.
常見錯誤
4. in older British texts, the number written as 1,000,000,000,000 — equal to a mil
in older British texts, the number written as 1,000,000,000,000 — equal to a million millions, the same value modern English now calls a trillion.
In a Victorian textbook, Professor Hayes found that 'one billion' meant a million million.
older British meaning of 'one billion'
At the London archive, Dr. Patel held a 1950s ledger where 'two billion pounds' meant two million million.
historical British definition in archive context
Nadia was puzzled when an old UK economics paper used 'billion' for a trillion.
After the 1974 government shift, Mr. Hughes finally stopped writing 'billion' to mean a million million in his accounts.
- trillion
the modern English word for the value (1,000,000,000,000) this older sense names.
用法筆記
Almost no one uses this meaning today. Modern British English follows the American value (1,000,000,000) for 'billion'. Distinguish from sense 1: this older sense is only relevant when reading old UK documents.
常見錯誤
billion — noun
1. the figure you get by writing a 1 followed by nine zeros — used as a noun to tal
the figure you get by writing a 1 followed by nine zeros — used as a noun to talk about that number on its own.
Aiko explained to her son that a billion is one followed by nine zeros.
a billion as the named number
The teacher asked the class to write a billion on the board in full.
billion as a stand-alone noun
Reaching a billion in monthly users felt unreal to the small startup team.
On the calculator, Nikolai typed a one and nine zeros to show a billion.
- thousand million
older British way of naming the same value, mostly used to avoid confusion with the historical British 'billion'.
文法句型
a billion
the figure of a billion
用法筆記
As a noun, 'billion' takes 'a' or 'the' and can be the subject or object of a sentence. Plural 'billions' (without 'of') is rare in this strict numerical sense; use 'billions of' for vague large counts (see number sense 2).
常見錯誤
2. a very big amount of money or items, kept vague on purpose — for example, when a
a very big amount of money or items, kept vague on purpose — for example, when a company is said to make 'billions' without naming an exact figure.
Streaming platforms now make billions every quarter without selling anything physical.
make + billions as vague money noun
After the new phone launched, Apple made billions in just three months.
make + billions as vague money noun
Elon Musk lost billions overnight when Tesla shares dropped sharply.
Google and Meta together made billions from online advertising last year alone.
- pennies
tiny amounts of money — opposite scale.
文法句型
billions (without 'of')
make billions
lose billions
用法筆記
Differs from number sense 2 ('billions of stars') — here, 'billions' stands alone with no 'of', and the implied unit is usually money. Subject is typically a company, fund, or wealthy person; the verb is often 'make', 'earn', 'lose', or 'spend'.