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billion
noun
the
number
1
000
000
000
(
one
thousand
million
)
•
Earth
’
s
population
is
over
eight
billion
people
.
Earth
’
s
population
is
over
eight
billion
people
.
•
Scientists
estimate
there
are
about
three
billion
base
pairs
in
human
DNA
.
Scientists
estimate
there
are
about
three
billion
base
pairs
in
human
DNA
.
Borrowed
in
the
17th
century
from
French
“
billion
”,
originally
meaning
a
million
millions
,
later
adopted
in
the
20th
century
to
mean
a
thousand
millions
in
most
English-speaking
countries
.
noun
an
extremely
large
but
unspecified
number
of
things
;
used
hyperbolically
•
I
’
ve
told
you
a
billion
times
to
close
the
door
.
I
’
ve
told
you
a
billion
times
to
close
the
door
.
•
There
are
a
billion
stars
in
the
sky
tonight
,
or
so
it
seems
.
There
are
a
billion
stars
in
the
sky
tonight
,
or
so
it
seems
.
Extension
of
the
literal
numerical
sense
to
a
figurative
one
for
emphasis
,
attested
from
the
early
1900s
.
noun
(
dated
,
long
scale
)
the
number
1
000
000
000
000
(
one
million
million
)
•
In
Victorian
Britain
,
a
billion
represented
a
million
million
.
In
Victorian
Britain
,
a
billion
represented
a
million
million
.
•
An
1890s
economics
textbook
defines
a
billion
as
10¹²
.
An
1890s
economics
textbook
defines
a
billion
as
10¹²
.
From
French
“
billion
” (
million
million
).
Retained
this
value
in
British
English
until
the
late
20th
century
.