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
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
Kareem Chehayeb, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2026
Players walked out on the stage to billowing smoke.
—Paul Tenorio, New York Times, 27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for billow
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.
Noun
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
Verb
Videos from the suburb of Choueifat, close to Beirut’s international airport, showed white smoke billowing from a residential neighborhood.
—Kareem Chehayeb, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2026
Players walked out on the stage to billowing smoke.
—Paul Tenorio, New York Times, 27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for billow
Cite this Entry
“Billow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/billow. Accessed 31 May. 2026.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
