billion

A number representing one thousand million (1,000,000,000) in the short scale, commonly used in American English and increasingly in British English.

• 🇩🇪Zahl, die tausend Millionen (1 000 000 000) entspricht, nach der kurzen Skala, die im amerikanischen Englisch und zunehmend auch im britischen Englisch verwendet wird; auch im Sinne von 'sehr viel' oder 'unermesslich'.

1. One thousand million (US) A2 formal american

   Denoting a quantity consisting of one thousand million items or units (1,000,000,000).

   • The company earned a billion dollars last year.
   • There are over a billion people in that country.
   • He spent a billion dollars on the new project.

   🇩🇪Milliarde

2. One million million (UK) B1 formal british

   Denoting a quantity consisting of one million million items or units (1,000,000,000,000).

   • In older British usage, a billion was a million million.
   • The national debt reached a billion pounds.
   • The distance to the star is measured in billions of miles.

   🇩🇪Billion (lange Skala)

3. Very large indefinite number A2 informal

   A hyperbole used to describe an extremely large, indefinite number.

   • I've told you a billion times to clean your room!
   • There are a billion stars in the sky.
   • He has a billion ideas for the new project.

   🇩🇪Unvorstellbar große Menge

   Synonyme: countlessgazillioninnumerablejillionmyriadumpteenzillion

• more billion comparative form
• most billion superlative form

A noun referring to a large number, specifically one thousand million (1,000,000,000) in American English, or one million million (1,000,000,000,000) in traditional British English; also used hyperbolically to mean an indefinitely large quantity.

• 🇩🇪Substantiv, das eine große Zahl bezeichnet, nämlich tausend Millionen (1 000 000 000) im amerikanischen Englisch oder eine Million Millionen (1 000 000 000 000) im traditionellen britischen Englisch; wird auch hyperbolisch für eine unbestimmt große Menge verwendet.

1. One thousand million A2 formal

   The number represented as 1 followed by 9 zeros (1,000,000,000). This is the standard meaning in the United States and increasingly in the United Kingdom.

   • The company is worth over a billion dollars.
   • There are nearly eight billion people on Earth.
   • He made his first billion before the age of thirty.

   🇩🇪Milliarde

   Synonyme: milliard

2. One million million B2 formal british

   The number represented as 1 followed by 12 zeros (1,000,000,000,000). This is the traditional meaning in the United Kingdom, though the US meaning is now more common.

   • In older British texts, a billion was a million million.
   • The national debt was measured in billions, meaning millions of millions.
   • Historically, a British billion was twelve zeros long.

   🇩🇪Billion

   Synonyme: trillion

3. A very large number A2 informal

   Used hyperbolically to mean an extremely large, indefinite number.

   • I've told you a billion times to clean your room!
   • There are a billion stars in the sky.
   • He has a billion ideas for new projects.

   🇩🇪Unvorstellbar große Menge

   Synonyme: gazillionjillionmilliontrillionzillion

• billions plural form
• billions' possessive plural form
• billion's possessive singular form

The cardinal numeral representing the quantity of one billion units (10⁹ in modern short-scale English); a composite number (2⁹×5⁹); a fundamental large-scale unit in the decimal system, widely used in mathematics, finance, economics, demographics, science, and global measurement. Note: In modern English (American and increasingly British), billion = 1,000,000,000; historically in British English, billion meant 10¹² (long scale), now obsolete. Also functions as a noun (denoting the symbol, quantity, or group of one billion), adjective/determiner (modifying nouns to indicate quantity), and pronoun (standing in for a plural noun phrase).

• 🇩🇪Kardinalzahl, die eine Milliarde (10⁹) von Gegenständen, Personen oder Zähleinheiten bezeichnet; grundlegende große Einheit im modernen Dezimalsystem; wird auch als Substantiv, Artikelwort oder Pronomen verwendet.

1. Cardinal numeral: the number 1,000,000,000 A2 formal

   Used to denote a quantity of one billion persons or things; the integer equal to one thousand millions (10⁹) in modern short-scale English; a composite number (2⁹×5⁹); represents a billionfold quantity in counting, mathematics, finance, and everyday usage.

   • The global population exceeded eight billion in 2023.
   • She invested one billion dollars in renewable energy.
   • One billion plus one billion equals two billion.
   • The company's valuation reached one billion euros.
   • He watched one billion streams of his song worldwide.

   🇩🇪Kardinalzahl: die Zahl 1.000.000.000

2. Noun: the number, symbol, or group of one billion B1 formal

   A noun referring to the cardinal number one billion; the numeral symbol 1,000,000,000; a set, collection, or group consisting of one billion items; in currency, a billion-unit denomination; often used in plural form ('billions') to indicate extremely large, indefinite quantities.

   • The number one billion is a critical threshold in demographic studies.
   • Circle the billions in this global economic report.
   • He donated several billions to humanitarian causes.
   • The contract specifies a billion of manufactured components.
   • In informal speech, 'billions' often emphasizes an almost unimaginable scale.

   🇩🇪Substantiv: die Zahl, das Symbol oder die Gruppe von einer Milliarde

3. Adjective/Determiner: amounting to one billion A2 formal

   Used attributively before a noun to indicate that the quantity or number of the noun is one billion; modifies plural countable nouns to specify exact quantity; typically remains singular when preceded by a specific number (e.g., two billion years).

   • They launched a billion-dollar infrastructure initiative.
   • We need a billion additional doses of the vaccine.
   • The simulation requires a billion iterations to converge.
   • She has a billion reasons to support the cause.
   • A billion mobile devices were connected to the internet last year.

   🇩🇪Adjektiv/Determinativ: in Höhe von einer Milliarde

4. Pronoun: one billion people or things (plural) B2 formal

   Used as a pronoun to refer to one billion previously mentioned or understood persons or things; takes plural verb agreement; often used in the plural form 'billions' to denote an unspecified vast number.

   • Ten billion data points were collected, but only a billion were analyzed.
   • I invited five billion potential users; a billion engaged with the platform.
   • How many units should we forecast? — A billion will align with market projections.
   • Several production lines operated, but a billion units met export standards.
   • Of the transactions processed, a billion were flagged for review.

   🇩🇪Pronomen: eine Milliarde Menschen oder Dinge

• billionth ordinal