Definition of billion number from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

billion

number

/ˈbɪljən/

(abbreviation bn)
1 000 000 000; one thousand million
- Worldwide sales reached 2.5 billion.
- half a billion dollars
- They have spent billions on the problem (= billions of dollars, etc.).
You say a, one, two, several, etc. billion without a final ‘s’ on ‘billion’. Billions (of…) can be used if there is no number or quantity before it. Always use a plural verb with billion or billions, except when an amount of money is mentioned Two billion (people) worldwide are expected to watch the game. • Two billion (dollars) was withdrawn from the account. There are more examples of how to use numbers at the entry for hundred.Topics Maths and measurementa2, Moneya2

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a billion, billions (of…)
(informal) a very large amount
- Our immune systems are killing billions of germs right now.
(British English, old-fashioned) 1 000 000 000 000; one million million synonym trillion

Word Originlate 17th cent.: from French, from million, by substitution of the prefix bi- ‘two’ for the initial letters.

See billion in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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adverb

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