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BILLION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The number that is represented as a one followed by 9 zeros
Synonyms:
1000000000; billion; one thousand million
Classified under:
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure
Hypernyms ("billion" is a kind of...):
large integer (an integer equal to or greater than ten)
Domain region:
America; the States; U.S.; U.S.A.; United States; United States of America; US; USA (North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "billion"):
milliard (a billion)
Derivation:
billion (denoting a quantity consisting of one thousand million items or units in the United States)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The number that is represented as a one followed by 12 zeros; in the United Kingdom the usage followed in the United States is frequently seen
Synonyms:
1000000000000; billion; one million million
Classified under:
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure
Hypernyms ("billion" is a kind of...):
large integer (an integer equal to or greater than ten)
Domain region:
Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)
Derivation:
billion (denoting a quantity consisting of one million million items or units in Great Britain)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A very large indefinite number (usually hyperbole)
Example:
there were millions of flies
Synonyms:
bazillion; billion; gazillion; jillion; million; trillion; zillion
Classified under:
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure
Hypernyms ("billion" is a kind of...):
large indefinite amount; large indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Denoting a quantity consisting of one thousand million items or units in the United States
Classified under:
Similar:
cardinal (being or denoting a numerical quantity but not order)
Domain region:
America; the States; U.S.; U.S.A.; United States; United States of America; US; USA (North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776)
Derivation:
billion (the number that is represented as a one followed by 9 zeros)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Denoting a quantity consisting of one million million items or units in Great Britain
Classified under:
Similar:
cardinal (being or denoting a numerical quantity but not order)
Domain region:
Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)
Derivation:
billion (the number that is represented as a one followed by 12 zeros; in the United Kingdom the usage followed in the United States is frequently seen)
Context examples:
A derived unit of measurement of viable bacterial organisms in a unit volume of substance of interest defined as the number of billion colony forming units (10E9CFU) in one milliliter of substance.
(Billion Colony Forming Units per Milliliter, NCI Thesaurus)
A derived unit of measurement of viable bacterial organisms in a unit mass of substance of interest defined as the number of billion colony forming units (10E9CFU) in one gram of substance.
(Billion Colony Forming Units per Gram, NCI Thesaurus)
A unit of cell count expressed in billions.
(Billion Cells, NCI Thesaurus)
A unit of cell concentration expressed as a number of cells in billions per unit volume equal to one liter.
(Billion Cells per Liter, NCI Thesaurus)
A unit of measure of organism content expressed in billions of organisms per unit of mass equal to one milligram.
(Billion Organisms per Milligram, NCI Thesaurus)
These violent events can briefly produce enough visible light to outshine entire galaxies consisting of billions of stars.
(NASA Satellite Spots a Mystery That's Gone in a Flash, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
It has been doing so for about 5 billion years and will continue for the other 4.5 billion years of its lifetime.
(Newest solar telescope produces first images, National Science Foundation)
The haploid set contains 50,000 to 100,000 genes and about 3 billion base pairs.
(Human Genome, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
Or it may be influenced by a tidal tug from the star's red dwarf binary companion (HR 4796B), located at least 54 billion miles from the primary star.
(Hubble Finds Huge System of Dusty Material Enveloping the Young Star HR 4796A, NASA)
Making it cheaper to do so could help the global community remove the 100 billion to 1 trillion tons of carbon necessary to avoid catastrophic global warming by mid-century.
(Scientists Turn CO2 into Solid Coal, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
