overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

bellows.

A device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location. At its most simple terms a bellows is a container which is deformable in such a way as to alter its volume which has an outlet or outlets where one wishes to blow air.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈbɛl.oʊz/US/ˈbɛl.əʊz/UK/ˈbɛl.əs/dialectal
  1. A device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location. At its most simple terms a bellows is a container which is deformable in such a way as to alter its volume which has an outlet or outlets where one wishes to blow air.

    When wood fires were common, so were bellows for helping start them.
  2. Any flexible container or enclosure, as one used to cover a moving joint.

  3. The lungs.

    archaic · informal
  4. Flexible, light-tight enclosures connecting the lensboard and the camera back.

  5. That which fans the fire of hatred, jealousy, etc.

    figuratively
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *bʰólǵʰis Proto-Germanic *balgiz Proto-West Germanic *balgi Old English bielġ Middle English bely Middle English belwes English bellows From Middle English belwes, plural of belu, belwe, a northern form of beli, from Old English bæliġ, northern form of bielġ, from Proto-Germanic *balgiz. Compare German Balg. See also belly. For the pronunciation /ˈbɛl.əs/, compare bodice, gallows.

verb/ˈbɛl.oʊz/US/ˈbɛl.əʊz/UK/ˈbɛl.əs/dialectal
  1. To operate a bellows; to direct air at (something) using a bellows.

    intransitive · transitive
  2. To expand and contract like a bellows.

    figuratively · intransitive
  3. To fold up like a bellows; to accordion.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *bʰólǵʰis Proto-Germanic *balgiz Proto-West Germanic *balgi Old English bielġ Middle English bely Middle English belwes English bellows From Middle English belwes, plural of belu, belwe, a northern form of beli, from Old English bæliġ, northern form of bielġ, from Proto-Germanic *balgiz. Compare German Balg. See also belly. For the pronunciation /ˈbɛl.əs/, compare bodice, gallows.

noun/ˈbɛl.oʊz/US/ˈbɛl.əʊz/UK/ˈbɛl.əs/dialectal
  1. plural of bellow

    form-of · plural
Where this word comes from

See bellow

verb/ˈbɛl.oʊz/US/ˈbɛl.əʊz/UK/ˈbɛl.əs/dialectal
  1. third-person singular simple present indicative of bellow

    form-of · indicative · present · singular · third-person
Where this word comes from

See bellow

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

bellows has 7 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

bellows studiobellows workshello, bellows

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.