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.
China’s March trade surplus slowed to just $51.1 billon, a 13-month low, as exports fell more than expected, while imports surged amid rising tech prices, they point out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
For the year, sales rose 5.6% to $75.05 billon.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 29, 2026
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
President Biden’s marquee tax-and-climate spending law known as the Inflation Reduction Act, which just marked its one-year anniversary this week, included $370 billon in clean energy tax credits over the next decade.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 17, 2023
From being the original gold coin of highest denomination, it came to be a silver coin, then a billon coin of the very lowest denomination, as it is to-day.
From The History of Currency, 1252 to 1896 by Shaw, William Arthur
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.
