billow

American  

[bil-oh] / ˈbɪl oʊ /

noun

1. a great wave or surge of the sea.

   Synonyms:

   whitecap, roller, comber, breaker, swell

2. any surging mass.

   billows of smoke.

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verb (used without object)

1. to rise or roll in or like billows; surge.

2. to swell out, puff up, etc., as by the action of wind.

   flags billowing in the breeze.

verb (used with object)

1. to make rise, surge, swell, or the like.

   A sudden wind billowed the tent alarmingly.

billow British  

/ ˈbɪləʊ /

noun

1. a large sea wave

2. a swelling or surging mass, as of smoke or sound

3. a large atmospheric wave, usually in the lee of a hill

4. poetic (plural) the sea itself

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verb

1. to rise up, swell out, or cause to rise up or swell out

Other Word Forms

• billowing adjective
• underbillow verb (used without object)

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”

Example Sentences

Every once in a while, she reverted to all fours and galloped to catch up with Clare, who was moving briskly, his burgundy cloak billowing behind him.

From Literature

An AFP correspondent saw smoke billowing from a bridge that was hit outside the city of Tyre.

From Barron's

Three days after the gunfight, the gates were wide open, and window drapes billowed in the breeze.

From The Wall Street Journal

Smoke billowed, and the whistle screamed as the train roared in.

From Literature

When smoke billowed from the damaged Fairmont The Palm hotel, he decided to hunker down.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• undulate