Bellow Meaning
/ˈbɛloʊ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe deep roar of a large animal, or any similar loud noise.
verbTo make a loud, deep, hollow noise like the roar of an angry bull.
Sentence Examples
Do the oxen bellow when their mangers are full?
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The angry bull began to ____ loudly at the approaching farmer.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I heard a loud ____ from the back of the house when he dropped the box.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English belwen, from Old English belgan, bylgan (“to become angry, to swell with rage”), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to sound, roar”), whence also belg (“leather bag”), bellan (“to roar”), blāwan (“to blow”). Cognate with German bellen (“to bark”), Russian бле́ять (bléjatʹ, “baa, bleat”). Compare billow (“wave”), of the same root, also bulge, with related etymology to swelling. Potentially related to bawl, Swedish böl (“bawl”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"There was a tap at a door, a bull's bellow from within, and I was face to face with the Professor."
— 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
"the bellowing voice of boiling seas"
— 1697, Virgil, “The First Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
"Then, as the Sunderland fans' cheers bellowed around the stadium, United's title bid was over when it became apparent City had pinched a last-gasp winner to seal their first title in 44 years."
— 2012 May 13, Alistair Magowan, “Sunderland 0-1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The angry bull began to ____ loudly at the approaching farmer.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I heard a loud ____ from the back of the house when he dropped the box.