Billions (short Scale) to Gross (B to gr)

1 billion (short scale) equals 6,944,444.444 gross (rounded).

1 billion (short scale) = 6,944,444.444 gross

How to convert billions (short scale) to gross

To convert billions (short scale) to gross, multiply the number of billions (short scale) by 6,944,444.444. The factor is rounded to 10 significant digits. To go the other way, multiply gross by 1.44×10⁻⁷.

gross = billions (short scale) × 6,944,444.444

Example: 10 billions (short scale) = 69,444,444.44 gross.

Large-number names differ around the world: this site uses the short scale (billion = 10⁹) by default, and lists the long-scale billion separately.

About these units

Billion (short Scale) (B)

General & non-SICurrent unit

One thousand million (10⁹). The meaning used in the US, UK and most English-speaking countries today.

For decades British and American speakers meant different things by billion. The short-scale sense, a thousand million, took hold in the United States in the 19th century, while Britain kept the older meaning of a million million. From the 1950s the short scale spread through British technical writing and journalism, and Winston Churchill had remarked in 1941 that for practical financial purposes a billion was a thousand millions.

The official break came on December 20, 1974. Asked in Parliament whether ministers would be required to use the traditional British meaning, Prime Minister Harold Wilson answered no, explaining that billion was now used internationally for 1,000 million and that using it any other way would cause confusion. He conceded it could still be read as a million million and asked colleagues to avoid ambiguity. Today a billion is 10⁹, matching the SI prefix giga, and the UN projected that world population would reach 8 billion on November 15, 2022.

1 billion (short scale) = 1,000,000,000 pieces (exactly).

Sources: Hansard, 20 Dec 1974: Billion (Definition), written answer; Wikipedia: Billion; United Nations: Day of Eight Billion

Gross (gr)

US & ImperialCurrent unit

Twelve dozen, 144 items. Still used when buying items such as pencils or buttons in bulk.

A gross is twelve dozen, 144 items, and the name is literally a large dozen: the term dates from the early 15th century and comes from the Old French grosse douzaine. Its plural is gross, as in three gross of screws.

Its structure is purely duodecimal. A gross is 12 dozens, 24 half dozens, or 72 pairs, and the step above it, the great gross, is 12 gross. Related terms include the small gross, which is 120. The larger groupings in this family are mainly used when buying or shipping in bulk, and the Dozenal Society of America promotes wider use of such terms as part of its case for counting in base 12.

1 gross = 144 pieces (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Gross (unit); Wiktionary: gross; Wikipedia: Dozen

Related conversions

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