as in protrudes
to extend outward beyond a usual point
the curtains in the open windows billowed in the summer wind
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of billows
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
One officer reaches into the car to open the driver's door and pull him out, but a ball of flames quickly flares up as smoke billows from the car.
—Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 17 Nov. 2025
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
Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2025
Smoke billows from the Lyondell Basell Houston refinery in Texas in 2024.
—Matthew Robinson, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
It’s presented in a treasure chest with smoke protruding as the chest opens, slowly displaying the cocktail itself as the smoke billows into the patron’s face, preparing their nostrils for the smokey aroma ahead.
—Andrew Watman, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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
One officer reaches into the car to open the driver's door and pull him out, but a ball of flames quickly flares up as smoke billows from the car.
—Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 17 Nov. 2025
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
Smoke billows over Gaza Strip following an Israeli bombardment Sunday.
—Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2025
Smoke billows from the Lyondell Basell Houston refinery in Texas in 2024.
—Matthew Robinson, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
It’s presented in a treasure chest with smoke protruding as the chest opens, slowly displaying the cocktail itself as the smoke billows into the patron’s face, preparing their nostrils for the smokey aroma ahead.
—Andrew Watman, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for billows
Noun
-
It's been three days since an ICE agent shot and killed Good, sparking waves of protests.—
Victor Jacobo,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
-
According to court documents, the fraudulent activity occurred in two waves.—
Chase Jordan
January 10,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Baleen is a specialized type of bone that protrudes from the jaws like teeth and is used to filter small critters from the ocean water to feed.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Even as the contestants arrive to begin the season, an important rowing portion of today's marooning challenge remains up in the air due to tumultuous swells.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Farther north in the Bay Area, a powerful combination of abnormally high king tides, large swells caused by a storm hanging out in the eastern Pacific, and rainfall across the region has led to coastal flooding.—
Deborah Netburn,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Is every head that pokes in to look at me actually Frank himself?—
Shane Kowalski,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
-
The Aries moon pokes holes in old insecurities about competence and productivity.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
28 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a brain aneurysm is a weakened area in an artery that bulges outward and fills with blood.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Billows.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/billows. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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