billion

Universal Words number (plural verb) 1 (abbreviation bn) 1000000000; one thousand million HELPNOTE You say a, one, two, several, etc. billion without a final 's' on 'billion'. Billions (of...) can be used if there is no number or quantity before it. Always use a plural verb with billion or billions: Worldwide sales reached 2.5 billion. * half a billion dollars * a few tens of billions of yen * They have spent billions on the problem (= billions of dollars, etc.). HELPNOTE There are more examples of how to use numbers at the entry for hundred. 2 (a billion or billions) (informal) a very large amount: Our immune systems are killing billions of germs right now. 3 (old-fashioned, BrE) 1000000000000; one million million SYNTRILLION