bellow

[bel-oh]

See more synonyms for bellow on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to emit a hollow, loud, animal cry, as a bull or cow.
to roar; bawl: bellowing with rage.

verb (used with object)

to utter in a loud deep voice: He bellowed his command across the room.

noun

an act or sound of bellowing.

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 bell²

Related formsbel·low·er, nounout·bel·low, verb (used with object)

Synonym study

2. See cry.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for bellowing

clamor, yelp, wail, roar, bluster, bray, cry, rout, blare, bawl, bay, whoop, shout, call, low, bark, yell, yawp, shriek, scream

Examples from the Web for bellowing

Contemporary Examples of bellowing

Find a fisherman to take you out on the water at dusk to watch the natural pyrotechnics at their bellowing best.
It’s a Big, Big World: Sights That Make You Feel Small
Lonely Planet
December 24, 2013
Obama was one with the crowd during his speech, talking about working together to bellowing cheers.
7 Best Moments From Obama’s DNC Speech (Video)
Jake Heller, Nina Strochlic
September 7, 2012
Never was he more delightful than when bellowing, “The cabs are here!”
‘Jersey Shore’ Canceled: 11 Wildest Moments (VIDEO)
Kevin Fallon
August 31, 2012
They just criticize Obama for not bellowing his everlasting support for the Syrian people whoever they might turn out to be.
The Rise of 'Foreign Policy Birthers'
Leslie H. Gelb
April 23, 2011
Our tour guide, Victor, clad in army green and with a bellowing voice, rallied us, his new batch of troops.
Portugal's Kings of Pastry
Molly Hannon
April 5, 2011

Historical Examples of bellowing

But this bellowing comes only every hundred years or thereabout.
Buried Cities: Pompeii, Olympia, Mycenae
Jennie Hall
The sudden jerk roused the monster to wrath, and its bellowing was terrible.
Welsh Fairy Tales
William Elliott Griffis
Like a flash of light she had passed through the bellowing throng.
The Scapegoat
Hall Caine
He dashed out into the antechamber, and I heard him bellowing orders.
The Strolling Saint
Raphael Sabatini
He managed to release about thirty before the bellowing stopped.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, August 1930
Various

British Dictionary definitions for bellowing

bellow

verb

(intr) to make a loud deep raucous cry like that of a bull; roar
to shout (something) unrestrainedly, as in anger or pain; bawl

noun

the characteristic noise of a bull
a loud deep sound, as of pain or anger

Derived Formsbellower, noun

Word Origin for bellow

C14: probably from Old English bylgan; related to bellan to bell ²

Bellow

noun

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bellowing

late 14c., from present participle of bellow (v.). As an adjective, recorded from 1610s.

bellow

apparently from Old English bylgan "to bellow," from PIE root *bhel- (4) "to sound, roar." Originally of animals, especially cows and bulls; used of human beings since c.1600. Related: Bellowed; bellowing. As a noun from 1779.