1
: wave
especially
: a great wave or surge of water
the rolling billows of the sea
2
: a rolling mass (as of flame or smoke) that resembles a high wave
Billows of smoke poured out of the building.
billows of fog
billowed; billowing; billows
1
: to rise or roll in waves or surges
the billowing sea
2
: to bulge or swell out (as through action of the wind)
billowing clouds
… the flags … billowed out in pride …—
G. B. Oxnam
G. B. Oxnam
: to cause to billow
a field of burning grass billowing thick black clouds of smoke into the sky—Donald Windham
Donald WindhamExamples of billow in a Sentence
Noun
Billows of smoke poured out of the burning building.
the rolling billows of the sea
Verb
the curtains in the open windows billowed in the summer wind
Recent Examples on the Web
Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 21 Oct. 2025
Smoke billows following an Israeli strike that targeted a building in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday.
—Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 20 Oct. 2025
Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
Plumes of smoke began to billow from the vehicles, apparently because of the spinning tires, prosecutors said.
—Morgan Chesky, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for billow
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Noun
Passersby stared as billows of smoke rose into the air above the White House as part of the home shared by the United States president and his family crumbled to the ground.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 21 Oct. 2025
Smoke billows following an Israeli strike that targeted a building in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday.
—Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
The magnetic field arcs above the solar surface into the billowing solar corona, where temperatures reach an extraordinary 20 million degrees Celsius.
—Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
Plumes of smoke began to billow from the vehicles, apparently because of the spinning tires, prosecutors said.
—Morgan Chesky, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for billow
Cite this Entry
“Billow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/billow. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
billow
1 of 2 noun
bil·low
ˈbil-ō 
1
: wave entry 2 sense 1
especially
: a large wave
2
: a rolling mass like a high wave
billows of smoke
billow
2 of 2 verb1
: to rise or roll in waves
the billowing ocean
2
: to bulge or swell out
sails billowing in the breeze
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