Words / B1

BIL-y-uh-n/ˈbɪljən/

A billion is a thousand million (1,000,000,000) in modern UK and US use: £2 billion; billions of pounds. Million is a thousand thousand. Bn is the news abbreviation. Do not mix billion and million in a data description — examiners watch the noughts. Older UK “billion” once meant a million million; that meaning is obsolete in news.

Meaning

A thousand million (1,000,000,000).

Examples

• “The project will cost two billion pounds over ten years.”
• “The rail project is expected to cost two billion pounds.”
• “The charity said billions of litres of water were lost through leaks.”

Good to know

1 billion = 1,000,000,000. Abbreviation: bn. Do not confuse with million. Modern UK = US meaning.

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