billable

American  

[bil-uh-buhl] / ˈbɪl ə bəl /

adjective

1. that may or should be billed.

   Attorneys put in hundreds of billable hours on the case.

---

noun

1. an active customer account.

billable British  

/ ˈbɪləbəl /

adjective

1. referring to time worked, esp by a lawyer, on behalf of a particular client and for which that client will be expected to pay

   a timesheet of my billable hours

---

Other Word Forms

• nonbillable
  adjective
• unbillable
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of billable

First recorded in 1570–80; bill ¹ + -able

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

billable

Attorneys for the federal government argued in court Thursday that they were asking for noncitizen registration numbers, billable hours and days of legal services, information they say is not confidential.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

A differentiation between FDEs and traditional consultants is that FDEs measure success through shared long-term business goals instead of billable hours, Amazon noted.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

Ford alleges the firm intentionally slowed down its clients’ cases to drive up their billable hours, instructing drivers not to communicate with Ford and pushing them toward filing a lawsuit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

Investors need to hear that incremental capacity is converting into billable services quickly, and that utilization rates are rising rather than stalling.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 27, 2026

If an AI tool can do a research task in three minutes that previously took an Andersen accountant four hours, it isn’t hard to see how billable hours could fall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025