Synonyms of billows

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

• waves
• swells
• seas
• surges
• ripples
• curls
• tsunamis
• whitecaps
• breakers
• wavelets
• rollers
• surfs
• combers
• riffles
• tidal waves
• ground swells

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

• protrudes
• pokes
• bulges
• swells
• juts
• stands out
• bellies
• balloons
• pouts
• overhangs
• bunches
• sticks out
• beetles
• projects
• pouches
• bags
• starts
• pooches
• extends
• distends
• dilates
• domes
• stretches
• inflates
• lengthens
• snowballs
• mushrooms
• expands
• elongates
• blows up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• condenses
• shrinks
• contracts
• compresses
• constricts

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of billows

Noun

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

Prayer mats lie next to heavy artillery; smoke billows from parked whips; backstabbers get cut first. — Pitchfork, 10 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