billow
pronunciation
How to pronounce billow in British English:
UK [ˈbɪləʊ]
How to pronounce billow in American English:
US [ˈbɪloʊ]
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- Noun:
- a large sea wave
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- Verb:
- rise up as if in waves
- move with great difficulty
- rise and move, as in waves or billows
- become inflated
Word Origin
- billow (n.)
- 1550s, perhaps older in dialectal use, from Old Norse bylgja "a wave, a billow," from Proto-Germanic *bulgjan (cognates: Middle High German bulge "billow, bag"), from PIE *bhelgh- "to swell" (see belly (n.)).
- billow (v.)
- 1590s, from billow (n.). Related: Billowed; billowing.
Antonym
Example
- 1. I also wish the boss career , exchequer billow .
- 2. Even the billow of the sea .
- 3. An angry billow almost swallowed the ship .
- 4. From billow to billow you still called and sang .
- 5. In despair , casting about frantically among the magazines , he had sent it to the billow , a society weekly in san francisco .