billon
Americannoun
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an alloy used in coinage, consisting of gold or silver with a larger amount of base metal.
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an alloy of silver with copper or the like, used for coins of small denomination.
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any coin struck from such an alloy.
noun
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an alloy consisting of gold or silver and a base metal, usually copper, used esp for coinage
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any coin made of such an alloy
Etymology
Origin of billon
1720–30; < French: debased metal, originally ingot, equivalent to Middle French bille log ( see billet 2) + -on noun suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The estimated $905-million jackpot is the eighth-largest in Powerball history, with the largest two being $2.04 billion in November 2022 and $1.8 billon in December 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
For the year, sales rose 5.6% to $75.05 billon.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 29, 2026
Food delivery operating loss per order is expected to rise in 4Q, resulting in a segment loss of around 13 billon yuan, the analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025
US business royalty sat down with UK royalty and served up a £150 billon investment into the UK over the coming years.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2025
The important point to notice in connection with this is that, in order to mitigate the effect of this reduction, the same decree limited the tender of such billon money.
From The History of Currency, 1252 to 1896 by William Arthur Shaw
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.
