billion meaning
billion :
billion, thousand million
noun
▪ The company made a billion dollars last year.
▪ The company earned a thousand million dollars last year.
▪ There are seven billion people in the world.
▪ There are seven thousand million people on Earth.
paraphrasing
▪ million – one thousand thousand
▪ trillion – one thousand billion
billion :
large, huge
adjective
▪ A billion stars shine in the sky.
▪ A large number of stars shine in the sky.
▪ The billion-dollar deal was exciting.
▪ The huge deal worth a thousand million dollars was exciting.
paraphrasing
▪ billion-dollar – worth a billion
▪ billionth – one part of a billion
billion :
large number, huge amount
noun
▪ The billion is hard to imagine.
▪ The large number is hard to picture.
▪ A billion dollars can change lives.
▪ A huge amount of money can change lives.
paraphrasing
▪ billion – large number
▪ million – smaller large number
Pronunciation
billion [ˈbɪl.jən]
The stress is on the first part 'bil' and sounds like 'bil-yun'.
billion [ˈbɪl.jən]
The pronunciation is the same for both parts of speech.
Common phrases and grammar about billion
billion - Common meaning
noun
billion, thousand million
adjective
large, huge
noun
large number, huge amount
Part of Speech Changes for "billion"
▪ billionth (noun) – one part of a billion
▪ billion-dollar (adjective) – worth a billion dollars
Common Expressions with "billion"
▪ one billion – means 'one thousand million'
▪ billion people – means 'a very large number of people'
▪ billion dollars – means 'a very large amount of money'
▪ billion stars – means 'a very large number of stars'
Important examples of billion in TOEIC
Vocabulary examples from the TOEIC test
In TOEIC vocabulary questions, billion often refers to a large number in business contexts.
Example of a confusing word: million (a smaller numerical value)
Grammar examples from the TOEIC test
In TOEIC grammar questions, billion is used as a noun and can appear with other numbers.
billion
Idioms and fixed expressions in TOEIC
billion-dollar deal
means 'a deal worth a billion dollars', used in business discussions.
billion to one
means 'very unlikely', used to express rarity.
Differences between similar words and billion
billion
,
million
differences
Billion means one thousand million, while million means one thousand thousand.
billion
,
trillion
differences
Billion means one thousand million, while trillion means one thousand billion.
Words with the same origin as billion
The origin of billion
The word billion comes from the French 'billion', which means a thousand million. It was first used in the 18th century.
Word structure
The composition of the word is unclear.
Words with the same origin
The root of billion is not clear or difficult to confirm.
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