billable

American  

[bil-uh-buhl] / ˈbɪl ə bəl /

adjective

1. that may or should be billed.

   Attorneys put in hundreds of billable hours on the case.

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noun

1. an active customer account.

billable British  

/ ˈbɪləbəl /

adjective

1. referring to time worked, esp by a lawyer, on behalf of a particular client and for which that client will be expected to pay

   a timesheet of my billable hours

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Other Word Forms

• nonbillable
  adjective
• unbillable
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of billable

First recorded in 1570–80; bill ¹ + -able

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

billable

A differentiation between FDEs and traditional consultants is that FDEs measure success through shared long-term business goals instead of billable hours, Amazon noted.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

The firm rewards junior employees for getting their hands dirty integrating AI and mapping new processes rather than hitting billable hour targets, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Meta and Google each had multiple partners from white-shoe firms at the defense table every day for eight weeks in Los Angeles, attorneys who can command thousands of dollars per billable hour.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2026

Investors need to hear that incremental capacity is converting into billable services quickly, and that utilization rates are rising rather than stalling.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 27, 2026

If an AI tool can do a research task in three minutes that previously took an Andersen accountant four hours, it isn’t hard to see how billable hours could fall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025