billion

denoting a quantity consisting of one thousand million items or units in the United States

denoting a quantity consisting of one million million items or units in Great Britain

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

a very large indefinite number (usually hyperbole)

the number that is represented as a one followed by 9 zeros

According to the French and American method of numeration, a thousand millions, or 1,000,000,000; according to the English method, a million millions, or 1,000,000,000,000. See Numeration.