name
Meaning 1
A surname.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
billow
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Canada, General-American: /ˈbɪl.oʊ/
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California, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈbɪl.əʊ/
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California: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Australian: /ˈbɪl.əʉ/
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Queensland Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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South-Asia: /ˈbɪl.loː(w)/
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South-Asia: /bɪˈloː(w)/
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homophone: below
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rhymes with -ɪləʊ
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CMU ARPABET: B IH1 L OW0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A large wave, swell, surge, or undulating mass of something, such as water, smoke, fabric or sound.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 3
To surge or roll in billows.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
To swell out or bulge.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
a large sea wave
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: surge
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: wave, moving ridge
verb
Meaning 6
become inflated
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- The sails ballooned
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: balloon, inflate
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: expand
Narrower terms: reflate
verb
Meaning 7
rise and move, as in waves or billows
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- The army surged forward
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: surge, heave
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: inflate, blow up
verb
Meaning 8
rise up as if in waves
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- smoke billowed up into the sky
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: wallow
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: soar, soar up, soar upwards, surge, zoom
Narrower terms: cloud
verb
Meaning 9
move with great difficulty
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- The soldiers billowed across the muddy riverbed
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: travel, go, move, locomote
History
Etymology
Probably a variant of Bellow or Bellew.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bhelǵh-der. Proto-Germanic *belganą Proto-Germanic *bulgijō Old Norse bylgjabor. Middle English *bilwe English billow From Middle English *bilwe, borrowed from Old Norse bylgja, from Proto-Germanic *bulgijō. Cognates include Danish bølge (“wave”); Norwegian Bokmål bølge (“wave”), Norwegian Nynorsk bylgje (“wave”); Swedish bölja (“wave”); German Low German Bulge, Bulg, Bülg (“billow, wave”); German Bulge (“billow, wave”). Compare bellow, bawl.
Across languages
Translations
60 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bashkir: ҙур тулҡын (źur tulqın) — large wave
- Bulgarian: огромна вълна (ogromna vǎlna) — large wave
- Catalan: onada — large wave
- Chinese Mandarin: 巨浪 (jùlàng) — large wave
- Czech: mrak — large wave
- Czech: mračno — large wave
- Czech: sloup — large wave
- Czech: mořská vlna — large wave
- Esperanto: ondego — large wave
- Finnish: hyökyaalto — large wave
- French: flot — large wave
- Galician: vaga — large wave
- German: Woge — large wave
- Ancient Greek: κλύδων (klúdōn) — large wave
- Italian: maroso — large wave
- Japanese: 波浪 (harō) — large wave
- Malagasy: alòna — large wave
- Māori: puhitai — large wave
- Māori: apu — large wave
- Māori: apu tai — large wave
- Occitan: ondada — large wave
- Occitan: vaga — large wave
- Occitan: èrsa — large wave
- Polish: bałwan — large wave
- Portuguese: vaga — large wave
- Punjabi: ਛੱਲ (challa) — large wave
- Russian: больша́я волна́ (bolʹšája volná) — large wave
- Russian: вал (val) — large wave
- Scots: adnasjur — large wave
- Spanish: oleada — large wave
- Spanish: ola — large wave
- Swedish: bölja — large wave
- Ottoman Turkish: طالاز (talaz) — large wave
- Ukrainian: вели́ка хви́ля (velýka xvýlja) — large wave
- Bulgarian: надигам се (nadigam se) — to surge in billows
- Dutch: deinen — to surge in billows
- Finnish: hyökyä — to surge in billows
- Finnish: vyöryä — to surge in billows
- Finnish: tupruta — to surge in billows
- French: ondoyer — to surge in billows
- German: wabern — to surge in billows
- German: wogen — to surge in billows
- Polish: bałwanić — to surge in billows
- Polish: zbałwanić — to surge in billows
- Russian: вздыма́ться (vzdymátʹsja) — to surge in billows
- Swedish: bölja — to surge in billows
- Ottoman Turkish: طالازلانمق (talazlanmak) — to surge in billows
- Ukrainian: здійматися (zdijmatysja) — to surge in billows
- Ukrainian: майорі́ти (majoríty) — to surge in billows
- Bulgarian: издувам се (izduvam se) — to swell or bulge
- Dutch: zwellen — to swell or bulge
- Dutch: doen bol staan — to swell or bulge
- Finnish: pullistua — to swell or bulge
- German: bauschen — to swell or bulge
- Russian: надува́ться (naduvátʹsja) — to swell or bulge
- Russian: выпя́чиваться (vypjáčivatʹsja) — to swell or bulge
- Spanish: hincharse — to swell or bulge
- Spanish: inflarse — to swell or bulge
- Ukrainian: випи́нуватися (vypýnuvatysja) — to swell or bulge
- Ukrainian: здійма́тися (zdijmátysja) — to swell or bulge