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• bellow
  bellow

  verb (used without object)

  to emit a hollow, loud, animal cry, as a bull or cow.
• Bellow
  Bellow

  noun

  Saul, 1915–2005, U.S. novelist, born in Canada: Nobel Prize in Literature 1976.

bellow

¹ American  

[bel-oh] / ˈbɛl oʊ /

verb (used without object)

• bellows,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bellowed,
  past participle,  past
• bellowing
  present participle

1. to emit a hollow, loud, animal cry, as a bull or cow.

2. to roar; bawl.

   bellowing with rage.

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verb (used with object)

• bellows,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bellowed,
  past participle,  past
• bellowing
  present participle

1. to utter in a loud deep voice.

   He bellowed his command across the room.

noun

• bellows
  plural

1. an act or sound of bellowing.

Bellow ² American  

[bel-oh] / ˈbɛl oʊ /

noun

1. Saul, 1915–2005, U.S. novelist, born in Canada: Nobel Prize in Literature 1976.

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bellow ¹ British  

/ ˈbɛləʊ /

verb

1. (intr) to make a loud deep raucous cry like that of a bull; roar

2. to shout (something) unrestrainedly, as in anger or pain; bawl

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noun

1. the characteristic noise of a bull

2. a loud deep sound, as of pain or anger

Bellow ² British  

/ ˈbɛləʊ /

noun

1. Saul . 1915–2005, US novelist, born in Canada. His works include Dangling Man (1944), The Adventures of Angie March (1954), Herzog (1964), Humboldt's Gift (1975), The Dean's December (1981), and Ravelstein (2000): Nobel prize for literature 1976

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Synonym Usage

See cry.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bellower
  noun
• outbellow
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bellows
  plural

Participles

• bellowing
  present
• bellowed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bellow
  simple
• bellows
  simple
• have bellowed
  perfect
• has bellowed
  perfect
• am bellowing
  progressive
• are bellowing
  progressive
• is bellowing
  progressive
• have been bellowing
  perfect progressive
• has been bellowing
  perfect progressive

Past

• bellowed
  simple
• had bellowed
  perfect
• was bellowing
  progressive
• were bellowing
  progressive
• had been bellowing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bellow
  simple
• will have bellowed
  perfect
• will be bellowing
  progressive
• will have been bellowing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of bellow

before 1000; Middle English belwen, akin to Old English bylgan to roar (compare for the vowel Old High German bullôn ); extended form akin to bell ²

Explanation

To bellow is to shout in a deep, angry voice. If you constantly bellow at other drivers on the road, consider signing up for anger management classes. Bellow comes from Middle English, and means "to roar like a bull." A cow's deep moo is called a low, so bellow just adds a big angry bull to the standard moo. We use bellow for human speech that has that angry power of a loud bovine, or for any loud, threatening noise. It can be a noun, as in the bellow of the thundercloud, or a verb, as when you bellow at your kid brother.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bellow Bellow bellows bellowed bellowing

The true artist must be the voice of opposition, of negativity, and should bellow “No! in thunder”—the phrase is Melville’s—to the easy affirmations of our complacent society.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

For TV producers, it's long been tempting to invite two self-righteous zealots into a studio to bellow at each other.

From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026

This novel is a big, Bellovian bellow about the complex life of Cal Stephanides, an intersex person who grows up in midcentury Detroit during its boom years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2025

Then he gently squeezes a bellow, pouring smoke into the hives of honeybees in his garden.

From Salon ● Nov. 14, 2024

Pinmei followed, but then BaiMa gave a low, triumphant bellow.

From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin

In a 2002 speech at the American Enterprise Institute, he summed up his outlook by recalling a line uttered by an aunt of Saul Bellow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025

That evening, while walking the dog, I found a Saul Bellow novel from 1982 sitting on a stoop.

From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2024

Letters of support were signed by everyone from Fred Astaire and Dick Cavett to Saul Bellow and Stevie Wonder.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2024

Author Saul Bellow, leaders of the Underground Railroad and high-definition images from the James Webb Space Telescope highlight the 2024 stamp-issuing program of the U.S.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 23, 2023

Bellow on bellow, his voice mounted, with scarce interval for breath.

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

He just stops, and bellows out the word that means most to him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

It’s 6 a.m., and he bellows for me.

From Slate ● May 10, 2026

To learn how to restore his instrument, Rinaudo enlisted the help of a mechanic friend who taught him how to fix all the valves, gears, pipes and bellows.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2025

There, a crane is lowering a helicopter onto the huge deck of a ship, as a marching band bellows in Suoyuwan park.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2025

“Come out now. I know you’re in here,” Jake’s voice bellows through the Mess, and we hear him stomp into the kitchen.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

Before every race the cycling legend appeared on the big screen and bellowed: "Hoi you lot! Shhhh."

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

Including the fellow whose name was being bellowed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

After calling the vest-adorned dog on stage and joking that she would bite Clark, he bellowed, “Is she lying, too?”

From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2026

"Assemble!" someone bellowed in the prison corridor, cutting through the silence.

From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026

The king roared his roar and the others bellowed; the splashing sprayed higher and the boat rocked wildly, and was slowly, ferociously, pushed out to sea.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

When the legendary frontman begins to sing, Mr. Jagger sounds enormous, bellowing with his full range while remaining in key.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

While he said he hasn’t been among those bellowing that oil was headed to $200 a barrel, he didn’t sell any of his positions either.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026

“Wuthering Heights” begins with a slowly intensifying squeaking noise, bellowing out over a blank black frame.

From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2026

Chalamet has already given us so much — the joke fodder, the buttery tux, Adam Sandler bellowing his name.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2025

Trotter was bellowing like an old cow deprived of its calf.

From "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson