Meaning of bill In English

• 0 a request for payment of money owed, or the piece of paper on which it is written:

  • an electricity/gas/phone bill

  • They sent us a bill for the work they had done.

  • She ran up (= caused herself to have) a huge phone bill.

  • They asked the waitress for the bill.

  • Could we have the bill, please?

  • Her mother agreed to foot (= pay) the bill.

• 1 a formal statement of a planned new law that is discussed before being voted on:

  • The bill was amended (= changed).

  • When a bill is passed in Parliament it becomes law.

  • informal The bill was thrown out (= did not go past the first stage of discussion and will not become law).

• 2 a piece of paper money:

  • a dollar/one-dollar bill

  • a ten-dollar bill

• 3 a paper sign giving information about something, especially an event or performance

  • There were lots of big names (= famous people) on the bill.

• 4 the beak of a bird

• 5 the part of a cap that sticks out above the eyes of the person who is wearing it:

  • He wore a baseball cap with the bill pulled down over his eyes.

• 6 to give or send someone a bill asking for money that they owe for a product or service:

  • Please bill me for any expenses you incur.

• 7 to advertise something with a particular description; to describe someone in a particular way in order to advertise them or make them known:

  • The movie was billed as a romantic comedy.

  • The young author was billed as "the new Beckett."

  • She was billed to perform every night for a period of two weeks.

• 8 the police

• 9 a list of expenses to be paid, or the total amount of costs or expenses:

  • We still have doctors’ bills to pay.

• 10 a piece of paper money:

  • He pulled out a thick wad of bills and gave me $20.

• 11 a formal statement of a planned new law that is discussed by a government or legislature before being voted on:

  • After a bill is passed by both houses of Congress, it becomes law when the president signs it.

• 12 the beak of a bird

• 13 to send someone a statement of what is owed:

  • Some places will bill you, but at others you have to pay right away.

• 14 a document showing how much money you owe for goods or services you have received:

  • bill for sth a bill for $10,000

  • big/huge/hefty, etc. bill (for sth) The company faces a hefty bill for repairs after the storm.

  • pay/settle a bill I don't have the money to pay this gas bill.

  • monthly/quarterly/weekly bill They can afford their monthly bills for basics such as food and housing but have little left for luxuries.

  • pay/pick up a bill The firm picked up the bill for him to be flown by executive jet to Edinburgh.

  • cut/reduce a bill We need to find ways of reducing our energy bills.

  • If you prefer you can request an itemized bill and get a list of every call you have made.

  • gas/phone/tax, etc. bill

• 15 to pay a bill:

  • Should the government foot the bill for all its citizens - or only the poorest among us?

• 16 a piece of paper given to you when you have finished eating at a restaurant, showing how much money you owe:

  • "Could we have the bill please?"

  • pick up the bill Don't worry. I'll pick up the bill.

• 17 a formal statement of a planned new law that is discussed before being voted on:

  • The bill became law in April.

  • amend/pass a bill They soon realized that they didn't have enough votes to pass the bill.

• 18 →  banknote

• 19 →  bill of exchange

• 20 to send someone a bill telling them how much money they owe for goods or services that they have received:

  • bill sb for sth The law firm had billed its clients for more than 400 hours.

• 21 to describe sth as being sth:

  • bill sth as sth The new technology is being billed as "the email of the future".