bill
/ˈbɪl/noun, verb
bill is spelled B-I-L-L: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 141 times per million words in written English, the 737th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Bill, the name). As a noun, bill means “A written list or inventory. (Now obsolete except in specific senses or set phrases; bill of lading, bill of goods, etc.)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bill is bills.
How many letters and syllables are in bill?
| Letters | 4: B-I-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 141 times per million words; the 737th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is bill?
Bill appears 141 times per million words in written English, the 737th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Bill, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bill?
- /ˈbɪl/
- [ˈbɪɫ]
- /ˈbɪʊ̯/
Bill has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-bill.ogg, En-uk-the_bill.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of bill
- bills plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- billing participle, present
- billed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bill mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A written list or inventory. (Now obsolete except in specific senses or set phrases; bill of lading, bill of goods, etc.)
- 2
A document, originally sealed; a formal statement or official memorandum. (Now obsolete except with certain qualifying words; bill of health, bill of sale etc.)
- 3
A draft of a law, presented to a legislature for enactment; a proposed or projected law.
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Prime Minister, I beg to introduce a bill entitled[…]
- 4
obsoleteA declaration made in writing, stating some wrong the complainant has suffered from the defendant, or a fault committed by some person against a law.
- 5
CanadaUSA piece of paper money; a banknote.
- 6
CanadaUSslangOne hundred dollars.
- 7
UKslangOne hundred pounds sterling.
In the conversation Henshall says he "struggling to find people to go up the roads" explaining how it would be "no good for black people" and how they need a "young white boy to go up there". Stock agrees, saying how he knows "this kid" who
- 8
A written note of goods sold, services rendered, or work done, with the price or charge owing; an invoice.
He received a bill of £9 for the groceries.
- 9
The beak of a bird, especially when small or flattish; sometimes also used with reference to a platypus, turtle, or other animal.
- 10
A beaklike projection, especially a promontory.
There is a lighthouse on Portland Bill.
- 11
Of a cap or hat: the brim or peak, serving as a shade to keep sun off the face and out of the eyes.
- 12
Any of various bladed or pointed hand weapons, originally designating an Anglo-Saxon sword, and later a weapon of infantry, especially in the 14th and 15th centuries, commonly consisting of a broad, heavy, double-edged, hook-shaped blade, with a short pike at the back and another at the top, attached to the end of a long staff.
- 13
A cutting instrument, with hook-shaped point, and fitted with a handle, used in pruning, etc.; a billhook.
- 14
Somebody armed with a bill; a billman.
- 15
A pickaxe or mattock.
- 16
The extremity of the arm of an anchor; the point of or beyond the fluke (also called the peak).
- 17
The bell, or boom, of the bittern.
verb
- 1
To advertise by a bill or public notice.
- 2
To charge; to send a bill to.
- 3
obsoleteto peck
- 4
to stroke bill against bill, with reference to doves; to caress in fondness
- 5
To dig, chop, etc., with a bill.
- 6
UKslangTo roll up a marijuana cigarette.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bill in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | declaração , projeto de lei, proposta de lei , conta, fatura , cobrar |
| Spanish | declaración , proposición de ley, proyecto de ley, proyecto legal , factura , nota |
| French | projet de loi, proposition de loi , facture , note, acte , greffe |
| German | Gesetzentwurf, Gesetzesentwurf, Gesetzesvorlage , Rechnung, Faktura , Plakat |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bill come from?
From Middle English bille, from Anglo-Norman bille, from Old French bulle, from Medieval Latin bulla (“seal, sealed document”). Doublet of bull (“papal bull; bubble”) and bulla.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).