billows 1 of 2

noun

plural of billow
as in waves
a moving ridge on the surface of water the great billows created by the ocean storm threatened to swamp the fishing boat

Synonyms & Similar Words

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billows

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of billow
as in protrudes
to extend outward beyond a usual point the curtains in the open windows billowed in the summer wind

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of billows
Noun
Taking a pass Smoke billows from a fire at the BioLab facility in Conyers in September 2024. — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 19 Aug. 2026 Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following Israeli strikes as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, on Sunday. — Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 31 May 2026 Smoke billows following an Israeli strike on the area of the Rawdat al-Salihin Mosque and the nearby cemetery in the southern city of Nabatieh, Lebanon, May 26, 2026. — CBS News, 27 May 2026 Video footage of the crash's aftermath obtained by NBC shows the vehicle significantly engulfed in orange flames emitting billows of black smoke. — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 13 May 2026 Father and son, both members of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, stare out at a sea of green grass and buffalo berry bushes as a herd of 30 or so bison munch patches of grass, flick their tails at flies, and flop onto the ground, creating brief billows of dust. — Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 5 Mar. 2026 Rol has so far counted 148 vehicles burned by the fire, which produced billows of black smoke visible from across metro Denver. — Elliott Wenzler, Denver Post, 27 Feb. 2026 Three seconds later, the Honda crashes into a parked car with such force its tires fly off the street, the pile of cars lurches forward several feet and snow billows. — Claire Galofaro, Fortune, 9 Jan. 2026 By night, fires dot the serene landscape and smoke billows from chimneys as guests sip cocktails and cocoa or take a sleigh ride over powdery, sparkling snow. — Wendy O'Dea, Robb Report, 28 Dec. 2025
Verb
His arms are outstretched and his shirt, worn like a jacket over a T-shirt, billows behind him as if blown by an invisible wind. — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 17 July 2026 People are seen trying to flee as thick black smoke billows into the sky. — CBS News, 12 July 2026 Highlights of this piece include a wide-leg pant that billows just the right amount, a coordinated V-neck with a loose, drapey feel, and rich, earthy colors to choose from in each. — Morgan Sullivan, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 July 2026 Black smoke billows from the area of the Gazprom Neftâs Moscow oil refinery on the outskirts of Moscow on June 18 following what Moscow's mayor described as a large-scale drone attack by Ukraine. — Elmira Aliieva, NBC news, 29 June 2026 Fake smoke billows from the chimneys and the windows are filled with moving models of the colorful creatures from the films. — Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026 The officers can then been seen scrambling to recover through debris as smoke billows out of the house, checking on each other to see if anyone had been hurt. — ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026 In Kelmscott House—Morris’s own Georgian mansion in Hammersmith, London—a 17th-century Iranian carpet billows from the ceiling in the dining room. — Lila Allen, Architectural Digest, 10 Feb. 2026 Smoke billows from the Lyondell Basell Houston refinery in Texas in 2024. — Matthew Robinson, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for billows
  1. waves
  2. protrudes
  3. swells
  4. pokes
  5. bulges
Noun
  • The Iranian diaspora spans multiple generations and waves of exile, from those who left after the 1979 revolution to more recent arrivals who fled crackdowns and protest movements.
    — Julia Vargas Jones, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Made for pretty much every texture, the airy foam gives fine-to-medium hair body without weighing it down, while helping define and smooth thicker waves and curls without sacrificing movement.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of waves
Verb
  • Anything that protrudes above the shallow, insulating snow cover is more prone to being damaged by the cold and wind or eaten by wildlife, said plant ecologist Anne Bjorkman of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Other animals on-site include a stable full of horses and Cowboy the tortoise, who is about the size of a lawnmower and whose head protrudes from what looks like a Venus flytrap made of bone.
    — Emma Madden, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of protrudes
Noun
  • Life-threatening swells and rip currents are possible along east- and south-facing shores.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Additionally, life-threatening surf and rip currents are expected from swells generated by the depression.
    — Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of swells
Verb
  • Even in the bathrooms, the toilet and bidet are concealed inside a kind of Travertine bench and the showerhead pokes out from a monolithic stone slab.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 2026
  • This is strong language, which pokes at our tribal memory of gasoline shortages from the 1970’s.
    — George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of pokes
Verb
  • According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a brain aneurysm is a weakened area in an artery that bulges outward and fills with blood.
    — Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Definition of bulges

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Cite this Entry

“Billows.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/billows. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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