zillion
Americannoun
plural
zillions,plural
zillionadjective
noun
determiner
Etymology
Origin of zillion
First recorded in 1930–35; jocular alteration of million, billion, etc.
Explanation
A zillion is a huge but nonspecific number. If your favorite café is so crowded that there's barely room to stand, let alone find a place to sit, you might say there are a zillion people in there. Use zillion when there are so many things or people that it would be hard to count them all. Zillion sounds like an actual number because of its similarity to billion, million, and trillion, and it is modeled on these real numerical values. However, like its cousin jillion, zillion is an informal way to talk about a number that's enormous but indefinite.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Nick Cannon and Abby De La Rosa just revealed that Zillion, their 2-year-old son, has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2024
Cannon's nine children also include two sets of twins — 11-year-olds Monroe and Moroccan with ex Mariah Carey, and 15-month-olds Zion and Zillion with former radio personality Abby De La Rosa.
From Salon • Sep. 23, 2022
Just the titles of Garland’s first three selections convey the gist: “Look Around,” “You Haven’t Done Nothin’,” “Heaven Is Ten Zillion Light Years Away.”
From New York Times • Apr. 10, 2022
She revealed in the post that the boys are named Zion Mixolydian Cannon & Zillion Heir Cannon.
From Fox News • Dec. 16, 2021
Locked out a year ago, the Hallers and a buddy wearing a Zillion Beers T-shirt were among the scores of fans this weekend that jammed a revitalized Phoenix Raceway.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 6, 2021
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
