billow
Use Billow in a sentence
oʊ noun
1.
a great wave or surge of the sea.
2.
any surging mass: billows of smoke.
verb (used without object)
3.
to rise or roll in or like billows; surge.
4.
to swell out, puff up, etc., as by the action of wind: flags billowing in the breeze.
verb (used with object)
5.
to make rise, surge, swell, or the like: A sudden wind billowed the tent alarmingly.
Origin:
1545–55; < Old Norse bylgja wave, cognate with Middle Low German bulge; akin to Old English gebylgan to anger, provoke
1545–55; < Old Norse bylgja wave, cognate with Middle Low German bulge; akin to Old English gebylgan to anger, provoke
Related forms
un·der·bil·low, verb (used without object)
Synonyms
1. swell, breaker, crest, roller, whitecap.
1. swell, breaker, crest, roller, whitecap.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To billow
00:10
Billow
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
billow (ˈbɪləʊ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 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 |
| —vb | |
| 5. | to rise up, swell out, or cause to rise up or swell out |
| [C16: from Old Norse bylgja; related to Swedish bōlja, Danish bölg, Middle High German bulge; see | |
| 'billowing | |
| —adj, —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
billow
1550s, perhaps older in dialectal use, from O.N. bylgja "a wave," from P.Gmc. *bulgjan (cf. M.H.G. bulge "billow, bag"), from PIE *bhelgh- "to swell" (see belly). Related: Billowing; billowy.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Plastic or flexible side coverings shall not billow or flap in excess of six inches in any one place.
Also remember that winter winds may cause snow to billow as roads are cleared.
If the containment is working, the polyethylene sheeting should billow inwards on all surfaces.
When spraying the bear, aim for the face but slightly downward for the spray will billow upwards a bit.
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
