Advertisement
Advertisement
blow
1[bloh]
blow
2[bloh]
verb (used without object)
(of the wind or air) to be in motion.
to move along, carried by or as by the wind.
Dust seemed to blow through every crack in the house.
to produce or emit a current of air, as with the mouth or a bellows.
Blow on your hands to warm them.
(of a horn, trumpet, etc.) to give out sound.
to make a blowing sound; whistle.
The siren blew just as we rounded the corner.
(of horses) to breathe hard or quickly; pant.
Zoology., (of a whale) to spout.
(of a fuse, light bulb, vacuum tube, tire, etc.) to burst, melt, stop functioning, or be destroyed by exploding, overloading, etc. (often followed byout ).
A fuse blew just as we sat down to dinner. The rear tire blew out.
to burst from internal pressure.
Poorly sealed cans will often blow.
Slang., to leave; depart.
Slang: Vulgar., to perform fellatio on a man.
Slang., to be unpleasant or unfortunate.
He’s so broke that he has to move back in with his parents, which totally blows.
Slang., to be inferior, as in quality or execution.
The vacation package blew so bad that everyone is asking the resort for a refund.
Informal., to boast; brag.
He kept blowing about his medals.
verb (used with object)
to drive by means of a current of air.
A sudden breeze blew the smoke into the house.
to spread or make widely known.
Growing panic blew the rumor about.
to drive a current of air upon.
to clear or empty by forcing air through.
Try blowing your nose.
to shape (glass, smoke, etc.) with a current of air.
to blow smoke rings.
to cause to sound, as by a current of air.
Blow your horn at the next crossing.
Jazz., to play (a musical instrument of any kind).
to cause to explode (often followed by up, to bits, etc.).
A mine blew the ship to bits.
to burst, melt, burn out, or destroy by exploding, overloading, etc. (often followed byout ).
to blow a tire; blow a fuse.
to destroy; demolish (usually followed by down, over, etc.).
The windstorm blew down his house.
Informal.
to spend money on.
to squander; spend quickly.
He blew a fortune on racing cars.
to waste; lose.
The team blew the lead by making a bad play.
Informal., to mishandle, ruin, botch; make a mess of; bungle.
With one stupid mistake he blew the whole project. It was your last chance and you blew it!
to put (a horse) out of breath by fatigue.
Slang., to depart from.
to blow town.
Slang: Vulgar., to perform fellatio on: Blow me!
She was blowing strangers for money to support her drug habit.
Blow me!
Slang., to smoke (marijuana or other drugs).
Slang., to damn.
Blow the cost!
noun
a blast of air or wind.
to clean machinery with a blow.
Informal., a violent windstorm, gale, hurricane, or the like.
one of the worst blows we ever had around here.
an act of producing a blast of air, as in playing a wind instrument.
a few discordant blows by the bugler.
Slang., cocaine.
Metallurgy.
a blast of air forced through a converter, as in the production of steel or copper.
the stage of the production process during which this blast is used.
Civil Engineering., boil.
verb phrase
blow out
to become extinguished.
The candles blew out at once.
to lose force or cease.
The storm has blown itself out.
(of an oil or gas well) to lose oil or gas uncontrollably.
Metallurgy., to blow down and clean (a blast furnace) in order to shut down.
blow away
to kill, especially by gunfire.
The gang threatened to blow away anyone who talked to the police.
to defeat decisively; trounce.
She blew her opponent away in three straight sets.
to overwhelm with emotion, astonishment, etc..
Good poetry just blows me away.
blow over
to pass away; subside.
The storm blew over in five minutes.
to be forgotten.
The scandal will eventually blow over.
blow up
to come into being.
A storm suddenly blew up.
to explode.
The ship blew up.
to cause to explode.
to blow up a bridge.
to exaggerate; enlarge.
He blew up his own role in his account of the project.
Informal., to lose one's temper.
When he heard she had quit school, he blew up.
to fill with air; inflate.
to blow up a tire.
Slang., to surge in interest or popularity, or suddenly achieve great success.
She’s a big celebrity now—her YouTube channel is blowing up.
Slang., (of a story, image, etc.) to dominate (the media) or be spread rapidly or widely on (the internet or a website).
The scandal has been blowing up the national news reports. His offensive comments blew up Twitter.
Slang., to repeatedly call or send a high volume of continuous text messages or emails to (a digital account).
This girl was blowing up my phone with her annoying texts.
Slang., to have a surge in text messages, emails, phone calls, etc.: Her phone was blowing up with concerned calls from family and friends.
My inbox blew up right after I posted the photo.
Her phone was blowing up with concerned calls from family and friends.
Photography., to make an enlarged reproduction of.
Mathematics., (of a function) to become infinite.
blow off
to allow steam to be released.
Informal., to reduce or release tension, as by loud talking.
Informal., to ignore, evade, or treat as unimportant.
I mentioned his insulting remark, and he just blew the whole thing off.
Informal., to not go to or participate in.
He blew off his first-period class three times that week.
Informal., to fail to meet (someone) as planned without alerting the person beforehand.
I waited 20 minutes before I realized my sister had blown me off.
Informal., to end a romantic or other relationship with.
He blew me off after our third date.
blow in
Slang., to arrive at a place, especially unexpectedly.
My uncle just blew in from Sacramento.
Metallurgy., to begin operations in (a blast furnace).
blow down, to suspend working of (a blast furnace) by smelting the existing charge with a diminishing blast.
blow
3[bloh]
noun
a yield or display of blossoms.
the lilac's lavender blows.
a display of anything bright or brilliant.
a rich, full blow of color.
state of blossoming; a flowering.
a border of tulips in full blow.
verb (used with or without object)
Archaic., to blossom or cause to blossom.
blow
1/ bləʊ /
verb
(of a current of air, the wind, etc) to be or cause to be in motion
(intr) to move or be carried by or as if by wind or air
a feather blew in through the window
to expel (air, cigarette smoke, etc) through the mouth or nose
to force or cause (air, dust, etc) to move (into, in, over, etc) by using an instrument or by expelling breath
(intr) to breathe hard; pant
(sometimes foll by up) to inflate with air or the breath
(intr) (of wind, a storm, etc) to make a roaring or whistling sound
to cause (a whistle, siren, etc) to sound by forcing air into it, as a signal, or (of a whistle, etc) to sound thus
(tr) to force air from the lungs through (the nose) to clear out mucus or obstructing matter
to explode, break, or disintegrate completely
the bridge blew down in the gale
electronics to burn out (a fuse, valve, etc) because of excessive current or (of a fuse, valve, etc) to burn out
slang, to lose one's temper
(intr) (of a whale) to spout water or air from the lungs
(tr) to wind (a horse) by making it run excessively
to cause (a wind instrument) to sound by forcing one's breath into the mouthpiece, or (of such an instrument) to sound in this way
slang, (intr) jazz to play in a jam session
(intr) (of flies) to lay eggs (in)
to shape (glass, ornaments, etc) by forcing air or gas through the material when molten
(intr) to boast or brag
slang, (tr)
to spend (money) freely
to treat or entertain
slang, (tr) to use (an opportunity) ineffectively
slang, to go suddenly away (from)
slang, (tr) to expose or betray (a person or thing meant to be kept secret)
slang, (tr) to inhale (a drug)
slang, (intr) to masturbate
informal, another word for damn
I'll be blowed
blow it!
draughts another word for huff
to vacillate
to kiss one's hand, then blow across it as if to carry the kiss through the air to another person
to boast of one's own skills or good qualities
slang
(of a drug, esp LSD) to alter someone's mental state
to astound or surprise someone
informal, to lose one's temper
noun
the act or an instance of blowing
the sound produced by blowing
a blast of air or wind
metallurgy
a stage in the Bessemer process in which air is blasted upwards through molten pig iron
the quantity of metal treated in a Bessemer converter
mining
a rush of air into a mine
the collapse of a mine roof
slang, jazz a jam session
blow
2/ bləʊ /
noun
a powerful or heavy stroke with the fist, a weapon, etc
by or with only one action; all at one time
a sudden setback; unfortunate event
to come as a blow
to fight
to result in a fight
an attacking action
a blow for freedom
a stroke of the shears in sheep-shearing
blow
3/ bləʊ /
verb
(intr) (of a plant or flower) to blossom or open out
(tr) to produce (flowers)
noun
a mass of blossoms
the state or period of blossoming (esp in the phrase in full blow )
Word History and Origins
Origin of blow1
Origin of blow2
Word History and Origins
Origin of blow1
Origin of blow2
Origin of blow3
Idioms and Phrases
strike a blow, to hit.
without striking a blow, without a battle or contest.
The military coup was accomplished without striking a blow.
strike a blow for, to further or advance the cause of.
to strike a blow for civil rights.
come to blows, to begin to fight, especially to engage in physical combat.
They came to blows over the referee's ruling.
at one blow, with a single act: Also at a blow.
He became wealthy and famous at one blow.
blow one's stack, stack.
blow one's lines, to forget or make an error in a speaking part or stage directions.
blow one's cover. cover.
blow chunks, chunk.
blow one's mind, mind.
blow one's cool, to lose one's composure; become angry, frantic, or flustered.
blow hot and cold, to favor something at first and reject it later on; waver; vacillate.
His enthusiasm for the job blows hot and cold.
blow off steam, steam. Also let off steam
blow one's top, top.
More idioms and phrases containing blow
- at one stroke (blow)
- body blow
- come to blows
- keep (blow) one's cool
- low blow
- way the wind blows
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
But the loss of experienced England international Nikita Parris was a blow and I still think they need time to allow their relatively young squad time to progress.
Stones being ruled out for these World Cup qualifying matches is a blow for Tuchel.
Sabalenka struck the first blow in the opener, swatting away a booming forehand winner to break early, but a poor service game allowed Pegula straight back in.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the US will "blow up" foreign crime groups if needed, possibly in collaboration with other countries.
When Kennedy refused to agree with Warner’s assertion that “a million Americans died from COVID,” the senator blew up.
Advertisement
When To Use
Blow describes the motion of the air or wind or to move with help from air or wind. Blow also refers to a sudden, impactful hit or strike. Blow has many other senses as a verb, a noun, and a slang term.When wind or air blows, it moves. When you are outside on a windy day, you can feel the air blow against you or see evidence of it blowing as trees wave or leaves fly through the air.
- Used in a sentence: Warm air blew across Kentucky this morning.
- Real-life examples: On a windy day, leaves may blow across the yard, your hair may blow into your face, and loose papers may blow around.
- Used in a sentence: We could see dark clouds blowing toward us.
- Used in a sentence: Frank collapsed after taking a blow to the leg from the runaway bicycle.
- Used in a sentence: Losing the fight was a huge blow to my confidence.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse
