French word

milliard

Pronunciation

IPA/miljaʁ/

Meaning

  • masculine nounbillion

Example

Le pays a reçu un milliard de dollars d'aide internationale.

The country received a billion dollars in international aid.

Illustration for milliard (billion)

More examples

L'entreprise a investi un milliard d'euros dans le projet.

The company invested a billion euros in the project.

Core concept

One enormous block made of 1,000 million units, used for a quantity or sum of money.

Common phrases

  • un milliard d'euros

    a billion euros

  • des milliards de personnes

    billions of people

  • un milliard de vues

    a billion views

Similar words

million: A number equal to 1,000,000.
billion: A number equal to 1,000,000,000,000.
milliardaire: A person whose wealth is at least 1,000,000,000.

Definition in French

Nombre entier égal à mille millions, soit 1 000 000 000 (10^9).

Word origin

French milliard comes through Italian miliardo and is built on mille, 'thousand', with the ending associated with million.

Usage tips

  • French treats milliard as a noun: un milliard de dollars, but deux milliards de dollars, with milliards becoming plural after numbers above one.

Related words

  • milliardairebillionairenoun

Word lists with this word