noun

bill

BIHL

noun

A request for payment, listing what is owed for goods or services.

"The waiter brought the bill after dessert."

"She pays her electricity bill online every month."

A proposed law presented to a legislature for debate and approval.

"The senator introduced a bill to reform healthcare funding."

A piece of paper currency.

"He paid for the coffee with a ten-dollar bill."

The beak of a bird.

"The duck's bill is flat and wide."

verb

To send someone an invoice for money owed.

"The contractor will bill us at the end of the month."

How to Use Bill

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishMost commonly: money owed for something, a proposed law, paper money, or a bird's beak.

Common mistake

In British English "bill" for a check at a restaurant; Americans usually say "check."

UK vs US

UK: "Can we have the bill?" — US: "Can we get the check?"

Common pairings

pay the bill pass a bill foot the bill

Word Forms

billed past tense, billed past tense, billed past tense, billed past tense, bills plural, bills plural, bills plural, bills plural, Bills plural, bills singular, bills singular, bills singular, bills singular

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The waiter brought the _____ after dessert.

Etymology

From Middle English bille, via Anglo-Norman from Medieval Latin bulla, meaning "sealed document" — the same root that gives us "bull" as in "papal bull."

Rhymes for bill

ill kill mill sill will till hill fill Jill dill gill pill

See all rhymes for bill →