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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

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

From Salon ● Nov. 14, 2024

Spend any time around Dave Roberts this spring and it hits you like a thunderous bellow from the big Dodger in the sky.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2024

From the cricket’s chirp to the bullfrog’s bellow, you might think that nature is awash in music.

From National Geographic ● Feb. 14, 2024

The engines rose to a deafening, agonized, ululating bellow each time McWatt changed direction.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

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

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

It’s a clean, clear, journalistic voice, one that employs facts the way Saul Bellow said they should be employed, each a wire that sends a current.

From New York Times ● May 8, 2023

Viewers Sharon Bagozzi of Virginia Beach, Virginia, is thankful for an episode with actor Tajh Bellow, who spoke about having ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2023

In fact, Bellow was no closer to Tolstoy than I was to Nzinga.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The domineering Sarastro, an all-powerful priest, bellows spiritual profundities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026

It’s 6 a.m., and he bellows for me.

From Slate ● May 10, 2026

“Joyful bellows from the fans,” the Chicago Tribune reported the next morning, “drowned out the final horn.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

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

“You guys,” Simon bellows up the stairs at 7:44.

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

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

“Purdue sucks!” he bellowed to thunderous applause, “So does Michigan and Ohio State!”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026

That was the chant bellowed from the Etihad Stadium's away end at full-time after City were again humbled at home by Tottenham Hotspur.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2025

Milk gave only drippings of milk, our one remaining hen had no eggs, and Nothing bellowed at me because his hooves were frozen to the ground.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

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

Despite his own family's discomfort with his antics, Hegseth kept up the scenery-chewing, bellowing about the all-powerful, forever-mysterious "they" have "come after me from day one."

From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2025

Alexander-Arnold responded by ripping off his Liverpool shirt before running towards the corner flag, bellowing in joy at the supporters as he was mobbed by team-mates.

From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2025

The cow let out another bellowing complaint, the most insistent so far.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull