How to Use billow in a Sentence

billow

1 of 2 noun
Definition of billownext
Synonyms for billownext
  • Billows of smoke poured out of the burning building.
  • Early on, fake tear gas billows through the flaps of the tent.
    — Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Feb. 2023
  • Photos of the fire show a billow of smoke coming from one side of the building.
    — Alejandro Serrano, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Mar. 2018
  • Along the horizon, the road meets a billow of clouds, then fades to a white nothingness.
    — Judi Ketteler, Good Housekeeping, 7 Mar. 2023
  • Most are crowned with billows of frosting: The higher the peaks, the more crowd-pleasing the result.
    — Melissa Clark Melissa Clark Melissa Clark, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2017
  • The engine explodes into flames and black smoke billows from the jet.
    — Chicago Tribune Staff, chicagotribune.com, 4 Aug. 2017
  • Fuzzy ashen mold billows around wheels of cheese stacked on wooden planks at La Ferme de L’Abérieux.
    — Time, 22 Sep. 2017
  • The red curtains from a stage in the gym billow as wood, bricks, and pieces of the building rush toward the running children.
    — Zachary Halaschak, Washington Examiner, 15 Jan. 2020
  • Video posted to social media of the scene shows part of the crane on fire atop the building as clouds of black smoke billow above.
    — Julianne McShane, NBC News, 26 July 2023
  • All chicken soups are alike at the start: a dead bird in water, boiling flesh, a billow of steam, grains of salt in the cook’s palm.
    — Talia Lavin, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2017
  • There’s a faint whirring noise as the blade sinks into the skeleton, and clouds of coral dust billow in the surrounding water.
    — Elizabeth Svoboda, Scientific American, 6 June 2018
  • Boot-heel billows of trail dust from a gravel parking lot.
    — Mike Sutter, San Antonio Express-News, 31 May 2018
  • When the stones are red-hot, water is thrown onto them, raising billows of light steam.
    — Rachel Polonsky, The New York Review of Books, 27 May 2020
  • Video footage of the crash posted on Facebook shows people walking away from the plane as thick clouds of smoke billow from the wreckage.
    — Mahita Gajanan, Time, 16 Aug. 2019
  • Air bubbles billow to the surface and seemingly burst in time with the music.
    — Justin Meneguzzi, Travel + Leisure, 28 Feb. 2023
  • Wearing a flowing red dress that billows in the wind, D’Arcy stands at a railing and watches her staffers make their way to the river’s edge.
    — Tyrone Beason, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2023
  • In videos that appear to have been taken at the scene and shared on social media, billows of smoke could be seen rising from the site.
    — Serhiy Morgunov, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2023
  • When the dining room’s two sets of bifolding doors are open, the footprint seems to expand as salty breeze billows in.
    — Kelly Dawson, Sunset Magazine, 12 Feb. 2020
  • Oye rocks braids of all kinds; from those that are green dyed and cheekbone-length to cornrows that cascade into a billow of coils.
    — Akili King, Vogue, 7 Nov. 2020
  • As plumes of smoke billow out of Canada’s forests, some may be wondering why many of the fires are being allowed to burn unchecked.
    — Alaa Elassar, CNN, 1 July 2023
  • In the clip, shared by Jordan Yaney of 14 News on Twitter, smoke and debris billow in the air seconds after the explosion rocks the street.
    — Charmaine Patterson, Peoplemag, 10 Aug. 2022
  • The big brawls occur inside cartoon-style billows of smoke.
    — Colin Covert, idahostatesman, 12 Apr. 2018
  • When the dome is raised, a billow of delicious-smelling smoke rises from the array of crackers, cheese, grapes and sliced chorizo.
    — Susan Dunne, courant.com, 15 Nov. 2021
  • The scent, a mix of the creamy coconut from a fancy sunscreen and laundry musk, is luscious, and feels like warm, cascading billows of wind on the skin.
    — Kathleen Hou, The Cut, 31 Aug. 2017
  • The vessel, which is still docked at the G street pier, ignited Friday, sending billows of smoke into the air.
    — David Hernandez, sandiegouniontribune.com, 5 Oct. 2017
  • Thrown canisters and grenades of tear gas produce clouds of powder with an appearance akin to smoke that billow in the air like a mist.
    — Kelsey D. Atherton, Scientific American, 23 June 2020
  • With time, some of those familiar bubbly clouds common of the midday billow high.
    — Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 22 Aug. 2020
  • This heavily edited version of the video shows police arriving on the scene as smoke billows from a group of electric trucks tucked in the back of the lot.
    — Emma Roth, The Verge, 20 Apr. 2023
  • Images taken at one of the incidents show flames blanketing the ship’s hull while clouds of black smoke billow into the clear sky.
    — John Walcott, Time, 14 June 2019
  • As the comet zooms around the sun, clouds of gas and dust billow and settle, surrounding the comet in a haze of shifting colors visible to telescopes.
    — Erika K. Carlson, Discover Magazine, 5 Feb. 2020
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billow

2 of 2 verb
  • The ship caught fire, and thick, black smoke billowed out of it.
    — Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 28 Mar. 2024
  • In the case of the Bronx fire, a space heater ignited the fire and smoke billowed through the building.
    — Nada Hassanein, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2023
  • But after the boom came the bust, and the garment billowed out of the mainstream in the decades that followed.
    — Isiah Magsino, Town & Country, 2 Sep. 2023
  • Just look for the smoke billowing around Rockville Pike and First Street.
    — Tim Carman, Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2023
  • Smoke billowed from the roof of the home as of 6:45 p.m. Thursday as siding on the house was charred with ash.
    — Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 6 July 2023
  • Dark black smoke could be seen billowing from the plant.
    — Mark Osborne, ABC News, 8 Nov. 2023
  • But here, it's paired with a billowing maxi skirt to complete the look.
    — Gabrielle Porcaro, Travel + Leisure, 25 June 2023
  • The billowing sleeves are extra roomy and have a foldover cuff that adds a stylish touch.
    — Nicol Natale, Peoplemag, 20 Oct. 2023
  • Photos and video from the scene along show a massive black plume of smoke billowing from the plant.
    — Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 8 Nov. 2023
  • Video from the scene showed flames and black smoke billowing hundreds of feet into the air.
    — CBS News, 24 Mar. 2023
  • Smoke billowed over the city of Pskov, Russia on Tuesday night.
    — Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 30 Aug. 2023
  • The fire sent clouds of black smoke billowing skyward that could be seen from afar.
    — TIME, 23 Feb. 2024
  • Smoke billowed from within the crowded camp, with mosque minarets in the backdrop.
    — Nasser Nasser and Josef Federman, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 July 2023
  • Notice the billowing clouds over the Atlantic from last night’s storms.
    — Dave Epstein, BostonGlobe.com, 3 July 2023
  • To go alongside, find Cos’ billowing blouse and a pair of Birkenstock clogs to match.
    — Laura Jackson, Vogue, 2 Aug. 2023
  • Images from the scene showed flames, a charred building and smoke billowing into the sky.
    — Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 18 July 2023
  • Videos from the scene show green and red smoke billowing into the air and signs decrying apartheid.
    — Jay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2023
  • Again, Ford continued to drive the bus with smoke billowing past his face.
    — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 7 Mar. 2024
  • Clouds of fog in neon yellow and bright fuchsia gave way to flowing silks and capes that billowed like parachutes in the wind.
    — Nicole Phelps, Vogue, 11 Dec. 2023
  • Flames and smoke could be seen billowing from the ancient Route 9 structure.
    — Louis Casiano, Fox News, 3 June 2023
  • The explosions sent smoke billowing into the air and ground traffic to a halt on busy streets.
    — Maeve Lawler, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Aug. 2023
  • Style with flowy, billowing pants from Toteme and a pair of sleek, suede sandals from St. Agni.
    — Laura Jackson, Vogue, 14 July 2023
  • The snowy powder blended with billowing clouds of dust.
    — Zeynep Karatas, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2023
  • The plink of a piano wafted in from the Music Hall by the water’s edge, and on a nearby point, the American flag billowed in the breeze.
    — Lila Battis, Travel + Leisure, 2 Aug. 2023
  • Videos showed giant plumes of smoke billowing from the apartment.
    — Isabel Debre The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 2 Sep. 2023
  • To be sure, the historic surge in rates has billowed X’s interest expense from a headwind to a gale.
    — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2023
  • Live footage from the Gaza Strip showed black smoke billowing from the territory.
    — Wafaa Shurafa, arkansasonline.com, 1 Dec. 2023
  • Video from Nakhon Nayok shows a huge blaze covering the mountain at night, the fire glowing red in the dark and smoke billowing in plumes.
    — Kocha Olarn, CNN, 31 Mar. 2023
  • As the fires rapidly grew, smoke billowed into the middle and upper layers of the troposphere, three to five miles above the ground.
    — Carolyn Kormann, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2023
  • The fire sent thick, black smoke billowing over the Ohio community.
    — Ian Duncan, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'billow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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