billet
1lodging 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.
Archaic. a written note, short letter, or the like.
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.
to obtain lodging; stay: They billeted in youth hostels.
Origin of billet
1Other words from billet
- bil·let·er, noun
- un·bil·let·ed, adjective
Other definitions for billet (2 of 2)
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.
Heraldry. a small, rectangular figure with the longer sides generally vertical, said to represent a block of wood.
Origin of billet
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use billet in a sentence
The equipment of the Boy Scout on billeting duty consists of a piece of white chalk and a menacing demeanour.
Our billeting parties had, of course, been sent ahead and started on their work.
The Doings of the Fifteenth Infantry Brigade | Edward Lord GleichenWe were off by 7.30, and were by way of billeting at a place called Bthisy, on the south-west edge of the forest of Compigne.
The Doings of the Fifteenth Infantry Brigade | Edward Lord GleichenFootnote 12: Billeting-money—that is, money to pay for lodgings at private houses.
The Military Journals of Two Private Soldiers, 1758-1775 | Abraham TomlinsonThere was no trouble whatever in billeting the men—the townsmen were quarrelling as to who should have them.
War in the Garden of Eden | Kermit Roosevelt
British Dictionary definitions for billet (1 of 2)
/ (ˈbɪlɪt) /
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
(tr) to assign a lodging to (a soldier)
(tr) informal to assign to a post or job
to lodge or be lodged
Origin of billet
1Derived forms of billet
- billetee, noun
- billeter, noun
British Dictionary definitions for billet (2 of 2)
/ (ˈbɪlɪt) /
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
Origin of billet
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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