billet
billet Lexical Profile
billet Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A place, especially a civilian's house or nonmilitary facility, where soldiers or visiting personnel are lodged temporarily; or a written order assigning such quarters.
"The visiting youth choir was assigned a comfortable billet with local host families for the duration of the festival."
An official position, job, or appointment, especially within a naval, military, or maritime organization.
"After completing her advanced training, she secured a prestigious billet at the oceanographic research institute."
A semi-finished length of metal with a round or square cross-section, used in manufacturing for rolling, extruding, or forging.
"The custom bicycle frame was precision-machined from a solid aluminum billet."
A thick, short piece of wood cut predominantly for use as fuel or firewood.
"He stacked several dry oak billets beside the hearth before lighting the evening fire."
• verb
To lodge or assign to temporary quarters, especially in private homes or nonmilitary buildings (of troops or visiting groups).
"The university agreed to billet the visiting exchange students in its campus dormitories over the summer."
• Rhymes for billet
Word Origin & Etymology
The word represents two homographs from Old French: the Lodging and position sense comes from 'billette', a diminutive of 'bille' (a written note or official voucher for lodging), while the wood and metal bar sense comes from a homonymous Old French 'billette', meaning a small log or tree trunk.