bill Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a statute in draft before it becomes law
    measure.
    • they held a public hearing on the bill
  2. noun an itemized statement of money owed for goods shipped or services rendered
    account; invoice.
    • he paid his bill and left
    • send me an account of what I owe
  3. noun a piece of paper money (especially one issued by a central bank)
    bank bill; banknote; banker's bill; note; Federal Reserve note; government note; bank note; greenback.
    • he peeled off five one-thousand-zloty notes
  4. noun the entertainment offered at a public presentation
  5. noun an advertisement (usually printed on a page or in a leaflet) intended for wide distribution
    handbill; flier; broadside; flyer; broadsheet; throwaway; circular.
    • he mailed the circular to all subscribers
  6. noun a sign posted in a public place as an advertisement
    notice; placard; posting; poster; card.
    • a poster advertised the coming attractions
  7. noun a list of particulars (as a playbill or bill of fare)
  8. noun a long-handled saw with a curved blade
    billhook.
    • he used a bill to prune branches off of the tree
  9. noun a brim that projects to the front to shade the eyes
    visor; peak; eyeshade; vizor.
    • he pulled down the bill of his cap and trudged ahead
  10. noun horny projecting mouth of a bird
    nib; pecker; neb; beak.
  11. verb demand payment
    charge.
    • Will I get charged for this service?
    • We were billed for 4 nights in the hotel, although we stayed only 3 nights
  12. verb advertise especially by posters or placards
    • He was billed as the greatest tenor since Caruso
  13. verb publicize or announce by placards
    placard.

WordNet

Bill noun
Etymology
OE. bile, bille, AS. bile beak of a bird, proboscis; cf. Ir. & Gael. bil, bile, mouth, lip, bird's bill. Cf. Bill a weapon.
Definitions
  1. A beak, as of a bird, or sometimes of a turtle or other animal. Milton.
Bill intransitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Billed present participle & verbal noun Billing
Definitions
  1. To strike; to peck. Obs.
  2. To join bills, as doves; to caress in fondness. "As pigeons bill." Shak. Thackeray.
Bill noun
Definitions
  1. The bell, or boom, of the bittern
    The bittern's hollow bill was heard. Wordsworth.
Bill noun
Etymology
OE. bil, AS. bill, bil; akin to OS. bil sword, OHG. bill pickax, G. bille. Cf. Bill bea.
Definitions
  1. A cutting instrument, with hook-shaped point, and fitted with a handle; -- used in pruning, etc.; a billhook. When short, called a hand bill, when long, a hedge bill.
  2. A weapon of infantry, in the 14th and 15th centuries. A common form of bill consisted of a broad, heavy, double-edged, hook-shaped blade, having a short pike at the back and another at the top, and attached to the end of a long staff.
    France had no infantry that dared to face the English bows end bills. Macaulay.
  3. One who wields a bill; a billman. Strype.
  4. A pickax, or mattock. Obs.
  5. (Naut.) The extremity of the arm of an anchor; the point of or beyond the fluke.
Bill transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To work upon ( as to dig, hoe, hack, or chop anything) with a bill.
Bill noun
Etymology
OE. bill, bille, fr. LL. billa (or OF. bille), for L. bulla anything rounded, LL., seal, stamp, letter, edict, roll; cf. F. bille a ball, prob. fr. Ger.; cf. MHG. bickel, D. bikkel, dice. Cf. Bull papal edict, Billet a paper.
Definitions
  1. (Law) 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.
  2. A writing binding 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. Eng. ✍ In the United States, it is usually called a note, a note of hand, or a promissory note.
  3. A form or draft of a law, presented to a legislature for enactment; a proposed or projected law.
  4. A paper, written or printed, and posted up or given away, to advertise something, as a lecture, a play, or the sale of goods; a placard; a poster; a handbill.
    She put up the bill in her parlor window. Dickens.
  5. An account of goods sold, services rendered, or work done, with the price or charge; a statement of a creditor's claim, in gross or by items; as, a grocer's bill.
  6. Any paper, containing a statement of particulars; as, a bill of charges or expenditures; a weekly bill of mortality; a bill of fare, etc.
Bill transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To advertise by a bill or public notice.
  2. To charge or enter in a bill; as, to bill goods.

Webster 1913