bellows

¹ American  

[bel-ohz, -uhz] / ˈbɛl oʊz, -əz /

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.

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Bellows ² American  

[bel-ohz] / ˈbɛl oʊz /

noun

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

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bellows British  

/ ˈbɛləʊz /

noun

1. Also called: pair 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

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Other Word Forms

• bellowslike adjective

Etymology

Origin of bellows

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

Example Sentences

Logan end-runs them yet again because, as he viciously bellows in their faces, "I f**king win."

From Salon

Millennia later, the mechanical organs of the 16th century would use the force of flowing water to draw breath into their bellows.

From Washington Post

The ore, charcoal and limestone were all dumped into the top of the furnace “stack” and heated with the aid of a water-powered bellows until the ore became molten and could be tapped.

From Washington Post

They use it to drink, store and spray water, and they also blow air through it to communicate — their 110-decibel bellows can be heard for miles.

From New York Times

The sylvan soundtrack is so sharply rendered as to refresh our words with meaning: bellows, croaks, buzzes, knocks and a veritable beating of wings.

From New York Times