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billionaire

[ bil-yuh-nair, bil-yuh-nair ]
/ ˌbɪl yəˈnɛər, ˈbɪl yəˌnɛər /
|

noun

a person who has assets worth a billion or more dollars, francs, pounds, or the like.

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Nearby words

billings method, billings, josh, billings, william, billingsgate, billion, billionaire, billionth, billiton, billman, billon, billow

Origin of billionaire

1855–60, Americanism; billion + -aire, on the model of millionaire
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for billionaire

British Dictionary definitions for billionaire

billionaire

/ (ˌbɪljəˈnɛə) /

noun

a person whose assets are worth over a billion of the monetary units of his country
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 billionaire

billionaire

n.

1844, American English, from billion on model of millionaire. The first in the U.S. likely was John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937), some time after World War I.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper