a statement of money owed for goods or services supplied.
He paid the hotel bill when he checked out.
a piece of paper money worth a specified amount.
a ten-dollar bill.
Government. a form or draft of a proposed statute presented to a legislature, but not yet enacted or passed and made law.
a written or printed public notice or advertisement.
any written paper containing a statement of particulars.
a bill of expenditures.
Law. a written statement, usually of complaint, presented to a court.
Slang. one hundred dollars.
The job pays five bills a week.
entertainment scheduled for presentation; program.
a good bill at the movies.
Obsolete.
a written and sealed document.
a written, formal petition.
to charge for by bill; send a bill to.
The store will bill me.
to enter (charges) in a bill; make a bill or list of.
to bill goods.
to advertise by bill or public notice.
A new actor was billed for this week.
to schedule on a program.
The management billed the play for two weeks.
the parts of a bird's jaws that are covered with a horny or leathery sheath; beak.
the visor of a cap or other head covering.
a beaklike promontory or headland.
a medieval shafted weapon having at its head a hooklike cutting blade with a beak at the back.
Also called billman. a person armed with a bill.
Also called billhook. a sharp, hooked instrument used for pruning, cutting, etc.
Also called pea. Nautical. the extremity of a fluke of an anchor.
money owed for goods or services supplied
an electricity bill
a written or printed account or statement of money owed
Usual US and Canadian word: check. such an account for food and drink in a restaurant, hotel, etc
any printed or written list of items, events, etc, such as a theatre programme
who's on the bill tonight?
informal to serve or perform adequately
a statute in draft, before it becomes law
a printed notice or advertisement; poster
a piece of paper money; note
an obsolete name for promissory note
law See bill of indictment
See bill of exchange
See bill of fare
archaic any document
to send or present an account for payment to (a person)
to enter (items, goods, etc) on an account or statement
to advertise by posters
to schedule as a future programme
the play is billed for next week
the mouthpart of a bird, consisting of projecting jaws covered with a horny sheath; beak. It varies in shape and size according to the type of food eaten and may also be used as a weapon
any beaklike mouthpart in other animals
a narrow promontory
Portland Bill
nautical the pointed tip of the fluke of an anchor
(of birds, esp doves) to touch bills together
(of lovers) to kiss and whisper amorously
a pike or halberd with a narrow hooked blade
short for billhook
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English bille, from Anglo-French, from Anglo-Latin billa for Late Latin bulla “seal”; see bull 3
First recorded before 1000; Middle English bile, bille, Old English bile “beak, trunk”; akin to bill 3
First recorded before 1000; Middle English bil, Old English bill “sword”; cognate with Old High German bil “pickax”
When thinking about all the many meanings of the simple word bill think of the bill you get in a restaurant. A piece of paper that someone pushes toward you, right? In the legislature, laws draft form are called bills––pieces of paper being passed around. Dollar bills and advertising bills get passed around too. A bird will push the bill of their beak into things too, and the bill of your baseball hat is the part that sticks out in front of the rest of you. When an actor demands top billing, they want to come first on the billboard marquis in front of the theater (and everywhere else).
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But companies, and individuals, using AI systems often have a tenuous grasp on just how many tokens they are burning through – until they either run out or get their monthly bill.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
A neighbor provided showers, until his water bill got too high; another supplied hot meals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
Do I need to tell the hospital to bill someone other than Medicare?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
But in China the bill arrives in a different form.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
“Leave. You haven’t got a claim. That’s a bill of sale. You haven’t staked this land.”
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
"We are bucking that national trend," says Bill Graham, a senior administrator at the practice.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
“They’re going to be spending cash for the indefinite future. The idea of free cash flow is just not part of the story,” Bill Birmingham, managing director at exchange-traded product provider Rex Shares, told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
But when Bill Plaschke starts pumping sunshine, history warns against climbing aboard the Bruin bandwagon unless it comes with an extended warranty and roadside assistance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
It was a display of instrumental virtuosity in the spirit of Busby’s hero, Bill Monroe, who had reworked traditional string-band music into a radical fusion of old and new.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Bill asked in the taxi on our way down to the Ile Saint Louis.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
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.
