Bill

1) what is commonly called a "check" by which the signer requires the bank to pay a third party a sum of money; this is a holdover from the days when a person would draw up a "bill of exchange" 2) a statement of what is owed 3) any paper money 4) legislative proposal for the enactment of a law; it is called a bill until it is passed and signed, at which time it is a law (statute) and is no longer referred to as a bill 5) an old-fashioned term for various filed documents in lawsuits or criminal prosecutions, which is falling into disuse