NYT Dictionary

BILLIONTH

/ˈbɪl.i.ənθ/
AdjectiveNounBIL-lionthbil-lionth · 2 syllablesGrade 4

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2023, 2024, 2025

Meaning

The ordinal form of the number one billion.

Etymology

Origin: Latin

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ▲ Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu. Proto-Indo-European *dwís Proto-Italic *dwis Old Latin duis Latin bisder. French bi- Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *sm̥- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂ Proto-Indo-European *smih₂ Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰes- Proto-Indo-European *-lom Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéslom ▲ Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂ Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéslih₂ Proto-Indo-European *smih₂ǵʰéslih₂ Proto-Italic *smīɣeslī Latin mīlle Italian mille Proto-Indo-European *-ōder. Proto-Indo-European *-Hōder.? Latin -ōnem Italian -one Italian milionebor. Old French million Middle French million French millionbf. French -illion French billionbor. English billion English -th English billionth From billion + -th (ordinal suffix).

NYT Puzzle Appearances

Accepted in 3 recorded puzzles, including a pangram:

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