billion

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbɪljən/, SAMPA: /"bIlj@n/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

Determiner

(number) (ordinal billionth)

1. The number 1,000,000,000 (or 1,000,000,000,000 in old British usage).

   In 2006, China had about 1.3 billion people.

Noun

Singular billion

Plural billions

1. (countable) The number 1,000,000,000 (or 1,000,000,000,000 in old British usage).

   Billions of dollars have been spent on the war in Iraq.