billow

American  

[bil-oh] / ˈbɪl oʊ /

noun

1. a great wave or surge of the sea.

   Synonyms:

   whitecap, roller, comber, breaker, swell

2. any surging mass.

   billows of smoke.

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verb (used without object)

1. to rise or roll in or like billows; surge.

2. to swell out, puff up, etc., as by the action of wind.

   flags billowing in the breeze.

verb (used with object)

1. to make rise, surge, swell, or the like.

   A sudden wind billowed the tent alarmingly.

billow British  

/ ˈbɪləʊ /

noun

1. a large sea wave

2. a swelling or surging mass, as of smoke or sound

3. a large atmospheric wave, usually in the lee of a hill

4. poetic (plural) the sea itself

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verb

1. to rise up, swell out, or cause to rise up or swell out

Other Word Forms

• billowing adjective
• underbillow verb (used without object)

Etymology

Origin of billow

First recorded in 1545–55; from Old Norse bylgja “wave,” cognate with Middle Low German bulge; akin to Old English gebylgan “to anger, provoke”

Example Sentences

Ms. Iturbide’s most well-known image shows a woman with flowing waist-length hair and billowing skirts looming above a hardscrabble landscape, a modern boombox clutched in her right hand.

From The Wall Street Journal

The centerpiece of Chicago’s wildly successful Millennium Park, the bandshell’s billowing 120-foot proscenium, supported by a web of aluminum arms, is fronted by dozens of torqued stainless steel ribbons, which exuberantly frame the stage.

From Los Angeles Times

But the moment he opened the door, the extent of the disaster was all too clear: he was engulfed in billowing smoke and had to retreat inside his flat.

From BBC

The flames sent smoke billowing above the nearby industrial area of Challenger Way.

From Los Angeles Times

He rushed home from work to find the 31-storey building in flames, with black smoke billowing out of it.

From BBC

Related Words

• undulate