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milliard

billion

noun mee-LYAR Less Common
Numbers & Measures Cardinal Numbers

Usage Note

Milliard is the standard French word for one thousand million (10⁹), equivalent to the British 'milliard' and the American 'billion'. French uses milliard where English speakers say 'billion', and billion in French historically meant a million million (10¹²), so direct translation requires care. The plural is milliards.

Examples

"La population mondiale dépasse huit milliards."

Natural Translation

The world population exceeds eight billion.

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