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.

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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

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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

For instance, if one party comes from multigenerational wealth, or both do, then trust-and-estate complexities will likely require more billable hours to work out.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

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

Meta and Google each had multiple partners from white-shoe firms at the defense table every day for eight weeks in Los Angeles, attorneys who can command thousands of dollars per billable hour.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2026

Former employees said such services were typically the ones that were billable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 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