What does "bill" mean?
A written list or inventory. (Now obsolete except in specific senses or set phrases; bill of lading, bill of goods, etc.)
Bill
/bɪl/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A written list or inventory. (Now obsolete except in specific senses or set phrases; bill of lading, bill of goods, etc.)
- Grammar: bill is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: banknote, beak, invoice, measure.
- Useful contrasts: coin, comp, conceal.
- Usage evidence: Bill Clinton spoke in ambiguous language when asked to describe his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
How to use "bill"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bill" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bill" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bill" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bill" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bill" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "banknote" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bill", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A written list or inventory. (Now obsolete except in specific senses or set phrases; bill of lading, bill of goods, etc.)
- 2 The beak of a bird, especially when small or flattish; sometimes also used with reference to a platypus, turtle, or other animal.
"The woosel cock so black of hue, With orange-tawny bill, The throstle with his note so true, The wren with little quill[…]"
- 3 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.
"At Floddon hyllys, / Our bowys, our byllys / Slew all the floure / Of theyr honoure."
- 4 The bell, or boom, of the bittern.
"The bittern's hollow bill was heard."
- 5 the entertainment offered at a public presentation wordnet
Show 27 more definitions
- 6 A document, originally sealed; a formal statement or official memorandum. (Now obsolete except with certain qualifying words; bill of health, bill of sale etc.)
- 7 A beaklike projection, especially a promontory.
"There is a lighthouse on Portland Bill."
- 8 A cutting instrument, with hook-shaped point, and fitted with a handle, used in pruning, etc.; a billhook.
- 9 horny projecting mouth of a bird wordnet
- 10 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[…]"
- 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 Somebody armed with a bill; a billman.
- 13 a brim that projects to the front to shade the eyes wordnet
- 14 A declaration made in writing, stating some wrong the complainant has suffered from the defendant, or a fault committed by some person against a law. obsolete
"... the legion of bills in the suit have been transformed into mere bills of mortality ..."
- 15 A pickaxe or mattock.
- 16 a cutting tool with a sharp edge wordnet
- 17 A piece of paper money; a banknote. Canada, US
"He gave the change for a three dollar bill. Upon examination, the bill proved to be counterfeit."
- 18 The extremity of the arm of an anchor; the point of or beyond the fluke (also called the peak).
- 19 a list of particulars (as a playbill or bill of fare) wordnet
- 20 A piece of paper money; a banknote.; One hundred dollars. Canada, US, slang
"There was no excuse, simply no excuse for not making four or five bills a week. A little initiative, that's all."
- 21 an itemized statement of money owed for goods shipped or services rendered wordnet
- 22 One hundred pounds sterling. UK, slang
"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 "owes me 12 bills"."
- 23 a statute in draft before it becomes law wordnet
- 24 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."
- 25 a sign posted in a public place as an advertisement wordnet
- 26 A written note of goods sold, services rendered, or work done, listing the price or charge paid; a receipt. India, slang
- 27 an advertisement (usually printed on a page or in a leaflet) intended for wide distribution wordnet
- 28 A paper, written or printed, and posted up or given away, to advertise something, as a lecture, a play, or the sale of goods
"In the meantime I will draw a bill of properties, such as our play wants."
- 29 a piece of paper money (especially one issued by a central bank) wordnet
- 30 A writing that binds the signer or signers to pay a certain sum at a future day or on demand, with or without interest, as may be stated in the document; a bill of exchange. In the United States, it is usually called a note, a note of hand, or a promissory note.
"Ay, and Rato-lorum too; and a gentleman born, Master Parson; who writes himself Armigero, in any bill, warrant, quittance, or obligation, Armigero."
- 31 A set of items presented together.
"Meanwhile, the bills on the main stages skewed towards mainstream pop, with mixed results. Lorde’s Friday evening Other stage appearance was one of the weekend’s highlights. The staging and choreography were fantastic – a giant glass tank on a hydraulic platform, in and around which a troupe of dancers acted out the highs and lows of a teenage party"
- 32 A list of pupils to be disciplined for breaking school rules. UK
"One of the best stories of the period describes the misadventure of a batch of candidates for confirmation whose names were by accident sent up to the Head-Master on a piece of paper identical in size and shape with the "bill" used by the Masters for the purpose of reporting delinquents. Keate, we are told, insisted on flogging all the boys mentioned in the document […]"
Verb
- 1 To advertise by a bill or public notice. transitive
"[...] it will be recalled that in 1960 they were billed as the long-distance express multiple-units of the future, [...]."
- 2 to peck obsolete
- 3 To dig, chop, etc., with a bill. transitive
- 4 To roll up a marijuana cigarette. UK, ambitransitive, slang
"And we don't really need Netflix, I'mma give you something to watch / After we done, bill a spliff and cotch / Pour me a glass of the Henny on the rocks"
- 5 advertise especially by posters or placards wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 To charge; to send a bill to. transitive
"The physician explains that this is an option for her and that she can sign the facility's ABN so that if Medicare denies the claim, the facility can bill her for the scan."
- 7 to stroke bill against bill, with reference to doves; to caress in fondness
"As the ox hath his bow, sir, the horse his curb and the falcon her bells, so man hath his desires; and as pigeons bill, so wedlock would be nibbling."
- 8 publicize or announce by placards wordnet
- 9 demand payment wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A diminutive of the male given name William.
""My other name's Bill," he said. "I was christened Bill but Mr Thursgood calls me William." / "Bill, eh. The unpaid Bill. Anyone ever call you that?" / "No, sir." / "Good name, anyway." / "Yes, sir." / "Known a lot of Bills. They've all been good 'uns.""
- 2 A diminutive of the male given name Bilal. rare
"Bill Essayli, Trump’s pick in April to temporarily lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, should have departed the post by July 31 under a 120-day limit imposed by federal law, U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright concluded."
- 3 A surname.
- 4 A nickname for the British constabulary. Often called "The Bill" or "Old Bill" British, slang
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Bill Clinton spoke in ambiguous language when asked to describe his relationship with Monica Lewinsky."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bill"?
Common synonyms include: banknote, beak, invoice, measure, acceptance, acceptance bill.
How do you use "bill" in a sentence?
Bill Clinton spoke in ambiguous language when asked to describe his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
How do you pronounce "bill"?
Pronounced /bɪl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
From Middle English bill, bil, bille, bile, from Old English bile (“beak (of a bird); trunk (of an elephant)”), of unknown origin. Perhaps from a special use of Old English bil, bill (“hook; sword”) (see below).
Etymology 3
From Middle English bill, bille, bil, from Old English bil, bill (“a hooked point; curved weapon; two-edged sword”), from Proto-Germanic *bilją (“axe; sword; blade”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyH- (“to strike; beat”). Cognate with West Frisian bile (“axe”), Dutch bijl (“axe”), German Bille (“axe”).
Etymology 4
Of onomatopoeic origin.
Etymology 5
From a pronunciation spelling of build.
Etymology 6
Hypocorism of William. It is unclear how the initial W became a B; this could have been part of the medieval trend of swapping letters, similar to Dick for Rick.