billet

[ bil-it ]

/ ˈbɪl ɪt /

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See synonyms for: billet / billeted / billeting 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.

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Origin of billet

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English billet, bylet “official register; record,” from Anglo-French, Old French billette, variant of Old French bullette, equivalent to bulle bill¹ + -ette -ette

OTHER WORDS FROM billet

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

Other definitions for billet (2 of 2)

billet²

[ 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

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English billet, bylet, from Old French billette, equivalent to bille “log, tree trunk” (from unrecorded 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. 2023

How to use billet in a sentence

Borman was just one more young Air Force officer who had scrapped and competed to be assigned to so coveted a billet as learning under Yeager—the first person to break the sound barrier, a feat he’d accomplished 15 years earlier.
Why Chuck Yeager Claimed He Had No 'Right Stuff'|Jeffrey Kluger|December 9, 2020|Time
He was billeted with a Fourth Division infantry unit floating a few miles out in the Channel.
The Story of the American Journalists Who Landed on D-Day|Timothy M. Gay|June 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The enemy, to prevent our forgetting him, is throwing big shells into the place we are billeted in.
Letters of Lt.-Col. George Brenton Laurie|George Brenton Laurie
It was billeted upon the inhabitants, according to the property and resources of each.
Maupassant Original Short Stories (180), Complete|Guy de Maupassant

"We were billeted three doors away," said Archibald, and paused.
The Adventures of Harry Revel|Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
It is rumoured that soldiers are to be billeted on us (enthusiastic cheers from the younger members of the family).
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 147, August 12, 1914|Various
The troops billeted in these areas varied in composition nearly every day.
The Doings of the Fifteenth Infantry Brigade|Edward Lord Gleichen

British Dictionary definitions for billet (1 of 2)

billet¹

/ (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 forms of billet

billetee, 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)

billet²

/ (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

billet

Origin of billet

OTHER WORDS FROM billet

Other definitions for billet (2 of 2)

Origin of billet

Words related to billet

How to use billet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for billet (1 of 2)

Derived forms of billet

Word Origin for billet

British Dictionary definitions for billet (2 of 2)

Word Origin for billet