Definition of 'billow'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present
tense billows
, present participle billowing
, past tense, past participle billowed
1. verb
2. verb
...thick plumes of smoke billowing from factory chimneys. [VERB preposition/adverb]
Steam billowed from under the bonnet. [VERB preposition/adverb]
...billowing clouds of cigarette smoke. [VERB-ing]
3. countable noun
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
adjective, noun
Word origin of 'billow'
noun
1.
a large wave; great swell of water
2.
any large swelling mass or surge, as of smoke, sound, etc.
verb intransitive
3.
to surge, swell, or rise like or in a billow
verb transitive
4.
to make billow or surge
SIMILAR WORDS: wave
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Example sentences containing 'billow'
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We carried on regardless, live on radio, with smoke billowing out from the woodwind. Times, Sunday Times (2016)We walked beneath white clouds billowing against a deep blue sky. Christianity Today (2000)Today billowing fabric can still help us through the summer. Times, Sunday Times (2008)They had covered heat sensors with plastic bags and wandered off when smoke began billowing out. The Sun (2011)The interior of the plane was billowing with smoke. BomberFirefighters rushed to the home after the owners spotted smoke billowing from under roof tiles. The Sun (2013)Firefighters found his badly burned body after neighbours spotted smoke billowing out. The Sun (2012)But a portable office attached to one wall is billowing smoke. Times, Sunday Times (2009)The force of the blast rips off its cover and sends flames and smoke billowing into the air. The Sun (2011)The memorable images of billowing clouds hid the vast numbers of people on the ground that made them happen. Times, Sunday Times (2011) Smoke was billowing from the dome. Times, Sunday Times (2006)If you are tall, billowing silky fabrics will work for you. Times, Sunday Times (2014)But a gust of wind swept the billowing fabric against what appeared to be a tell-tale bulge. The Sun (2009)She took a picture of the family's abandoned picnic chairs with smoke still billowing behind. The Sun (2015)He was at a shop delivering 100,000 of furniture when he spotted smoke billowing from the rear. The Sun (2012)A passing motorist who saw smoke billowing from a house stopped to rescue the family inside. Times, Sunday Times (2013)From this desk, some of the great classical works of modern times would emerge through billowing tobacco clouds. Times, Sunday Times (2007)He is oblivious of the smoke billowing from one of the towers behind him, white against a hazy blue sky. Times, Sunday Times (2012)A man was hanging out of an upstairs window, choking on the billowing smoke. The Sun (2010)WEARING billowing white wedding dresses and smart morning suits, thousands of happy couples crammed into vast venues to exchange vows. The Sun (2012)Banker or not, the villas provide a sumptuous holiday complete with giant four-poster beds swathed in billowing muslin. Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Trends of 'billow'
Used Rarely. billow is in the lower 50% of commonly used words in the Collins dictionary
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Translations for 'billow'
British English: billow VERB
When something made of cloth billows, it swells out and moves slowly in the wind.
The curtains billowed in the breeze.
Nearby words of 'billow'
Source
Definition of billow from the
Collins English Dictionary
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