Synonyms of billow

billow 1 of 2

noun

ˈbi-(ˌ)lō 

as in wave

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

• wave
• swell
• surge
• ripple
• tsunami
• curl
• surf
• sea(s)
• whitecap
• comber
• breaker
• roller
• wavelet
• ground swell
• riffle
• tidal wave

billow

2 of 2

verb

as in to protrude

to extend outward beyond a usual point

the curtains in the open windows billowed in the summer wind

Synonyms & Similar Words

• protrude
• poke
• bulge
• swell
• jut
• balloon
• stand out
• overhang
• bunch
• pouch
• stick out
• pout
• project
• start
• belly
• extend
• bag
• dome
• beetle
• inflate
• distend
• stretch
• dilate
• pooch
• lengthen
• expand
• elongate
• snowball
• mushroom
• blow up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• shrink
• contract
• compress
• condense
• constrict

Examples of billow in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The key difference is that Bora Bora braids are typically plaited in line with the existing length of your natural hair, allowing the remainder of the curly human hair to billow outwards and form the bulk of the hairstyle. —Ranyechi Udemezue, Vogue, 29 July 2024

Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese border village of Chihine on July 28, 2024. —Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 29 July 2024

Verb

And an aircraft had gone missing overnight amid the smoke billowing from Oregon’s Malheur National Forest. —Joshua Partlow, Washington Post, 28 July 2024

Fire crews responded to a home in the 400 block of Dixwell Avenue around 7 p.m. on the report of a fire and found flames and smoke billowing out of the upper floors of the multi-story home, according to the New Haven Fire Department. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 16 July 2024