bellows

¹

[ bel-ohz, -uhz ]

noun

, (used with a singular or plural verb)

1. a device for producing a strong current of air, consisting of a chamber that can be expanded to draw in air through a valve and contracted to expel it through a tube.
2. anything resembling or suggesting bellows in form, as the collapsible part of a camera or enlarger.
3. the lungs.

Bellows

²

[ bel-ohz ]

noun

1. George Wesley, 1882–1925, U.S. painter and lithographer.

bellows

/ ˈbɛləʊz /

noun

1. Also calledpair of bellows an instrument consisting of an air chamber with flexible sides or end, a means of compressing it, an inlet valve, and a constricted outlet that is used to create a stream of air, as for producing a draught for a fire or for sounding organ pipes
2. photog a telescopic light-tight sleeve, connecting the lens system of some cameras to the body of the instrument
3. a flexible corrugated element used as an expansion joint, pump, or means of transmitting axial motion

Other Words From

• bellows·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bellows¹

before 900; Middle English bel(o ) wes (plural), Old English belg, short for blǣst belg, plural belgas blast-bag; cognate with Dutch blaasbalg, German Blasebalg, Old Norse belgr. See belly

Word History and Origins

Origin of bellows¹

C16: from plural of Old English belig belly

Example Sentences

Terry bellows in the direction of the kitchen.

From BBC

Three centuries later, as a criminally convicted former U.S. president bellows “witch hunt” into every available microphone, the madness endures, the cruelty continues.

From Los Angeles Times

“Of course it’s folly!” he bellows, his voice shaking.

From New York Times

They liken the mechanism to a toy known as a stomp rocket, in which stomping on an air-filled plastic bellows shoots a foam rocket into the air.

From Science Magazine

“I'm sorry, people are too easily offended now! If you don’t like a joke, don’t laugh!” she bellows.

From Salon