Meaning & use
billow
Last updated
To swell, surge, or rise in large waves or puffy masses, especially of fabric, smoke, or water.
See it in a sentence
Dark smoke billowed from the factory chimney.
Her sails billowed out as the wind picked up.
A note on using this word
Also used as a noun for a large wave or swelling mass, especially of the sea ('the billows of the ocean'), a somewhat poetic usage.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
deflate
Another way to use it
2. noun
A large wave or swelling mass, especially of the sea.
The ship rose and fell on the ocean's billows.
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