billow
Americannoun
-
billows
plural
verb (used without object)
-
billows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
billowed,
past participle, past
-
billowing
present participle
-
to rise or roll in or like billows; surge.
-
to swell out, puff up, etc., as by the action of wind.
flags billowing in the breeze.
verb (used with object)
-
billows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
billowed,
past participle, past
-
billowing
present participle
noun
-
a large sea wave
-
a swelling or surging mass, as of smoke or sound
-
a large atmospheric wave, usually in the lee of a hill
-
poetic (plural) the sea itself
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
billowsimple
-
billowssimple
-
have billowedperfect
-
has billowedperfect
-
am billowingprogressive
-
are billowingprogressive
-
is billowingprogressive
-
have been billowingperfect progressive
-
has been billowingperfect progressive
Past
-
billowedsimple
-
had billowedperfect
-
was billowingprogressive
-
were billowingprogressive
-
had been billowingperfect progressive
Future
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”
Explanation
Something billows when there's a fluid or blowing motion, such as the air filling a curtain at an open window, or smoke billowing from a fire. This word originally meant a wave, and that image should help you remember its current meaning too. The word usually suggests movement and growth, such as waves building and crashing. There are certain clouds that look like ocean waves, and so are called billow clouds. If you have a big shirt, the wind might make it fill with air and billow. Balloons are billowed when you inflate them. Billowing can also mean to move with difficulty — slowly.
Vocabulary lists containing billow
The Diary of Anne Frank
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List 6
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The One and Only Ivan
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The region's oil export terminals have been hit several times in recent weeks, triggering massive fires that billow plumes of toxic black smoke into the atmosphere.
From Barron's ● May 3, 2026
I loved watching the fallen leaves billow up from the road in great whirling circles as I drove by.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, I was in northern New Jersey, and watched the smoke billow from the World Trade Center.
From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2025
“I am crossing my fingers, we are OK for now,” said Pavelka as he watched smoke billow over the Santa Ana Mountains near the spot where he has lived for 20 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2024
It gushed out a billow of blue flame, then another, then turned and rolled in the fire, wriggling and crushing it into the dirt.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Four Marines crouch in the foreground surrounded by the blackened remains of burned trees; in the top two-thirds of the picture the black-and-white smoke of the blast billows upward, beautiful in its destruction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
"Baptism of fire" is the Observer's headline, accompanied with a picture of a man wading into the ocean as smoke billows from the wildfires in the distance.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
AFP journalists who traveled to the landfill site by boat saw billows of thick, gray smoke completely enveloping houses on Salambao -- one of the islands from which people were evacuated.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
His TikTok page billows with shortform clips from the crime scene—uploaded thrice-daily from his front-facing camera—offering benign commentary on the languishing investigation.
From Slate ● Feb. 23, 2026
We’re in our spot next to the wide gangway, standing among the traders and workmen and a pack of youthful Japanese, everyone waiting for the launch and the black billows of diesel.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
Footage shared by local broadcaster Jijel News showed residents taking refuge in a post office as thick clouds of smoke billowed around them.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Black smoke billowed over the Iranian capital, with officials there warning of the hazardous health effects for residents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 8, 2026
I’m not sure what would provoke anyone to tune in, but like clockwork, the viewership billowed to the thousands.
From Slate ● Feb. 23, 2026
As the eruption column billowed into the sky, day turned to night.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
She had nothing useful to say about this, she thought, and the silence billowed out between them.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Following the show — billowing shapes, punk-y hair sculptures, all classically Collina — we walked into a whimsical picnic complete with a margarita fountain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Nothing says things are not going to plan more than long queues for petrol and billowing smoke coming from stricken oil refineries.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
"Climate, changed," is the Observer's pithy headline, describing it as "the burning issue" overlaying smoke billowing from mountainside fires in Powys, Wales.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
He then erupts in flames twice his height, dark smoke billowing.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
All around it, smoke was hovering wispily off the ground, and just behind it, great volumes of smoke were billowing from the earth over a large area.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
