billet

[ bil-it ]

/ ˈbɪl ɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR billet ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

lodging for a soldier, student, etc., as in a private home or nonmilitary public building.

Military. an official order, written or verbal, directing the person to whom it is addressed to provide such lodging.

a place assigned, as a bunk, berth, or the like, to a member of a ship's crew.

job; position; appointment.

Archaic. a written note, short letter, or the like.

verb (used with object), bil·let·ed, bil·let·ing.

Military. to direct (a soldier) by ticket, note, or verbal order, where to lodge.

to provide lodging for; quarter: We arranged with the townspeople to billet the students.

verb (used without object), bil·let·ed, bil·let·ing.

to obtain lodging; stay: They billeted in youth hostels.

Nearby words

billboard, billbug, billed, biller, billerica, billet, billet-doux, billethead, billety, billfish, billfold

Origin of billet

1375–1425; late Middle English bylet, billett official register < Anglo-French billette, Old French bullette, equivalent to bulle bill¹ + -ette -ette

Related formsbil·let·er, nounun·bil·let·ed, adjective

Definition for billet (2 of 2)

billet

[ bil-it ]

/ ˈbɪl ɪt /

noun

a small chunk of wood; a short section of a log, especially one cut for fuel.

Metalworking. a comparatively narrow, generally square, bar of steel, especially one rolled or forged from an ingot; a narrow bloom.

an iron or steel slab upon concrete, serving as a footing to a column.

Architecture. any of a series of closely spaced cylindrical objects, often in several rows, used as ornaments in a hollow molding or cornice.

a strap that passes through a buckle, as to connect the ends of a girth.

a pocket or loop for securing the end of a strap that has been buckled.

thumbpiece.

Heraldry. a small, rectangular figure with the longer sides generally vertical, said to represent a block of wood.

Origin of billet

1400–50; late Middle English bylet, bel(l)et < Anglo-French, Middle French billette, equivalent to bille log, tree trunk (< Gaulish *bilia tree trunk; compare Old Irish bile landmark tree) + -ette -ette

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for billet

I should not have been capable of writing a billet there, much less a Cycle.
Titan: A Romance v. 1 (of 2)|Jean Paul Friedrich Richter
Barlasch seemed to take it for understood that a billet holds good throughout a whole campaign.
Barlasch of the Guard|H. S. Merriman
And so he called in Parson Sampson, and they concocted a billet together.
The Virginians|William Makepeace Thackeray
We simply decided that they'd better give Granet a billet at home.
The Kingdom of the Blind|E. Phillips Oppenheim

He who sends a bullet abroad at random may hear later that it had its billet all along, though it was so silent about it.
When Ghost Meets Ghost|William Frend De Morgan

British Dictionary definitions for billet (1 of 2)

billet

/ (ˈbɪlɪt) /

noun

accommodation, esp for a soldier, in civilian lodgings

the official requisition for such lodgings

a space or berth allocated, esp for slinging a hammock, in a ship

informal a job

archaic a brief letter or document

verb -lets, -leting or -leted

(tr) to assign a lodging to (a soldier)

(tr) informal to assign to a post or job

to lodge or be lodged

Derived Formsbilletee, nounbilleter, noun

Word Origin for billet

C15: from Old French billette, from bulle a document; see bull ³

British Dictionary definitions for billet (2 of 2)

billet

/ (ˈbɪlɪt) /

noun

a chunk of wood, esp for fuel

metallurgy

a metal bar of square or circular cross section
an ingot cast into the shape of a prism

architect a carved ornament in a moulding, with short cylinders or blocks evenly spaced

Word Origin for billet

C15: from Old French billette a little log, from bille log, probably of Celtic origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for billet (1 of 3)

billet

1590s, "to assign quarters to," earlier, as a noun, "official record or register" (Middle English), from Anglo-French billette "list, schedule," diminutive of bille (see bill (n.1)). Related: Billeted; billeting.

Word Origin and History for billet (1 of 3)

billet

n.1

thick stick of wood, mid-15c., from Middle French billette, diminutive of bille "stick of wood" (see billiards).

Word Origin and History for billet (2 of 3)

billet

n.2

"document, note;" see billet-doux.

billet

noun

verb (used with object), bil·let·ed, bil·let·ing.

verb (used without object), bil·let·ed, bil·let·ing.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of billet

Definition for billet (2 of 2)

billet

noun

Origin of billet

Examples from the Web for billet

British Dictionary definitions for billet (1 of 2)

billet

noun

verb -lets, -leting or -leted

Word Origin for billet

British Dictionary definitions for billet (2 of 2)

billet

noun

Word Origin for billet

Word Origin and History for billet (1 of 3)

billet

Word Origin and History for billet (1 of 3)

billet

Word Origin and History for billet (2 of 3)

billet