billow
verb/ˈbɪləʊ/
/ˈbɪləʊ/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they billow | /ˈbɪləʊ/ /ˈbɪləʊ/ |
| he / she / it billows | /ˈbɪləʊz/ /ˈbɪləʊz/ |
| past simple billowed | /ˈbɪləʊd/ /ˈbɪləʊd/ |
| past participle billowed | /ˈbɪləʊd/ /ˈbɪləʊd/ |
| -ing form billowing | /ˈbɪləʊɪŋ/ /ˈbɪləʊɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] (of a sail, skirt, etc.) to fill with air and form a round shape
- The curtains billowed in the breeze.
Extra Examples- Her dress billowed out around her.
- The sail, now unfurled, was billowing in the strong wind.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- [intransitive] if smoke, cloud, etc. billows, it rises and moves in a large mass
- A great cloud of smoke billowed out of the chimney.
- billowing clouds of dust
Word Originmid 16th cent.: from Old Norse bylgja.
Check pronunciation:
billow