Billow

/ˈbɪloʊ/ · noun

Meaning

A large wave, swell, surge, or undulating mass of something, such as water, smoke, fabric or sound..

Definitions by Sense

1. A large wave, swell, surge, or undulating mass of something, such as water, smoke, fabric or sound.
2. To surge or roll in billows.
3. To swell out or bulge.

Example Sentences

[…] Whom the winds waft where'er the billows roll, / From the world's girdle to the frozen pole;

The snow fell hissing in the brine, / And the billows frothed like yeast.

But at that moment he is sprung upon by a panther billow leaping over the bulwarks. Wave after wave thus leaps into the ship […]

The banners outflame the blazing morn, / O'er billows of bayonet, sword, and spear.

And the brooklet has found the billow / Though they flowed so far apart.

Have the swirling sands engulfed them, on a noon of storm when the desert rose like the sea, and rolled its tawny billows on the walled gardens of the green and fragrant lands?

During the preceding afternoon a heavy North Pacific fog had blown in … Scudding eastward from the ocean, it had crept up and over the redwood-studded crests of the Coast Range mountains, […], billowing steadily eastward, it had rolled up the western slopes of the Siskiyou Range, […]

The nuns' veils billowed and flapped behind the snaky line of girls as if the sisters were shooing the serpent from the Garden of Eden.

Synonyms for billow

Antonyms for billow

Related Words

Word Forms

• billows
• billowing
• billowed

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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