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blow1

Pronunciation: /bləʊ/

Translate blow | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of blow

verb (past blew /bluː/; past participle blown /bləʊn/)

  • 1 [no object] (of wind) move creating an air current:a cold breeze was blowing in off the sea
  • [with object and adverbial of direction] (of wind) cause (something) to move; propel:a gust of wind blew a cloud of smoke into his face the spire was blown down during a gale
  • [no object, with adverbial of direction] be carried, driven, or moved by the wind or an air current:it was so windy that the tent nearly blew away cotton curtains blowing in the breeze
  • North American informal leave:I’d better blow
  • 2 [no object] (of a person) expel air through pursed lips:Willie took a deep breath, and blew he blew on his tea to cool it
  • [with object] use one’s breath to propel (something):he blew cigar smoke in her face
  • breathe hard; pant:Uncle Albert was soon puffing and blowing
  • (as adjective blown) out of breath; panting:an exhausted, blown horse
  • [with object] force air through the mouth into (an instrument) in order to make a sound:the umpire blew his whistle
  • (of an instrument) make a sound when air is forced into it:police whistles blew
  • [with object] sound (the horn of a vehicle): angry motorists blew their horns
  • informal play jazz or rock music in an unrestrained style: it took him maybe five choruses to warm up, but then he could really blow
  • [with object] force air through a tube into (molten glass) in order to create an artefact: factory showrooms where you can see glass being blown and painted
  • [with object] remove the contents of (an egg) by forcing air through it: teaching children to blow an egg by placing holes in either end with a pin
  • (of a whale) eject air and vapour through the blowhole.
  • 3 [with object and adverbial of direction] (of an explosion or explosive device) displace violently or send flying:the blast had blown the windows out of the van
  • [no object] (of a vehicle tyre) burst suddenly while the vehicle is in motion: a rear tyre had blown
  • burst or cause to burst due to pressure or overheating: [no object]:the engines sounded as if their exhausts had blown
  • (with reference to an electric circuit) burn out through overloading: [no object]:the fuse had blown [with object]:the floodlights blew a fuse
  • 4 [with object] informal spend recklessly:they blew £100,000 in just eighteen months
  • 5 [with object] informal completely bungle (an opportunity):he’d been given a second chance and he’d blown it they blew a 4-2 lead
  • expose (a stratagem):a man whose cover was blown
  • 6 (past participle blowed) [with object] British informal damn: [as imperative]:‘Well, blow me’, he said, ‘I never knew that.’ [with clause]:I’m blowed if I want to see him again
  • 7 [with object] vulgar slang perform fellatio on (a man).
  • 8 [with object] (of flies) lay eggs in or on (something).

noun

  • 1 [in singular] a strong wind:we’re in for a bit of a blow
  • an act of getting some fresh air:I’ll go down to the sea and get a blow before supper
  • 2an act of blowing an instrument:a number of blows on the whistle
  • informal a spell of playing jazz or rock music.
  • an act of blowing one’s nose:give your nose a good blow
  • (in steel-making) an act of sending an air or oxygen blast through molten metal in a converter.
  • 3 [mass noun] informal cannabis or cocaine.

Phrases

be blown off course

(of a project) be disrupted by some circumstance: short-term prospects can be blown off course by inflation

be blown out of the water

be shown to lack all credibility: the idea that inflation would not affect jobs was naive and has now been blown out of the water

blow someone's brains out

informal kill someone with a shot in the head: her third husband had blown his brains out

blow chunks

North American informal vomit.

blow cold on

regard unfavourably:however, they are now blowing cold on the issue

blow the doors off

North American informal be considerably better or more successful than:a package that blows the doors off anything on the market

blow a fuse (or gasket)

informal lose one’s temper: it was only a suggestion—there’s no need to blow a fuse

blow hot and cold

alternate inconsistently between two moods, attitudes, or courses of action: he had behaved badly, stringing her along, blowing hot and cold

blow someone a kiss

kiss the tips of one’s fingers then blow across them towards someone as a gesture of affection: she plunged into a waiting cab and blew Graham a kiss

blow someone's mind

informal impress or otherwise affect someone very strongly:the sound of a twelve-string guitar just blew my mind

blow one's nose

clear one’s nose of mucus by blowing through it into a handkerchief: he’s wiping his eyes and blowing his nose into a huge silk handkerchief

blow off steam

see let off steam at steam.

blow something to bits (or pieces or smithereens)

use bombs or other explosives to destroy something, typically a building, completely:the commandos blew the base to smithereens

blow one's top (or chiefly North American lid or stack)

informal lose one’s temper: he is volatile and likely to blow his top if his demands aren’t met

blow up in one's face

(of an action, project, or situation) go drastically wrong with damaging effects to oneself: he never knew when a casual remark to a stranger might blow up in his face

blow with the wind

be incapable of maintaining a consistent course of action: ‘You lack consistency’, said Bunny. ‘You blow with the wind.’

Phrasal Verbs

blow someone away

informal
  • 1kill someone using a firearm: the heroine straps on a gun and blows away the bad guys
  • 2impress someone greatly:I’m blown away by his new poem

blow in

informal arrive casually and unannounced: sometimes he would blow in unexpectedly and say hello

blow off

informal break wind noisily.

blow someone off

North American informal
fail to keep an appointment with someone: I just made this date before I met you—I didn’t want to blow her off
end a romantic or sexual relationship with someone.

blow something off

North American informal
ignore or make light of something: he tries to blow it off and pretend it doesn’t matter
fail to attend something:Ivy blew off class

blow out

  • 1be extinguished by an air current:the candles blew out
  • 2(of a tyre) puncture while the vehicle is in motion: the car went into a rubber-shredding skid when the front nearside tyre blew out
  • 3(of an oil or gas well) emit gas suddenly and forcefully.
  • 4 (blow itself out) (of a storm) finally lose its force: figurativethe recession may finally have blown itself out

blow someone out

North American informal defeat someone convincingly: they were blown out by Florida 58-3 at home

blow something out

  • 1use one’s breath to extinguish a flame:he blew out the candle
  • 2puff out one’s cheeks: he blew out his cheeks and sat down heavily on the couch
  • 3North American informal render a part of the body useless:he blew out his knee playing basketball

blow over

(of trouble) fade away without serious consequences: if he would simply cool off, the whole matter would soon blow over

blow up

  • 1explode: the car blew up as soon as it hit the wall
  • lose one’s temper:Mum had blown up at Dad with more than her usual vehemence
  • 2(of a wind or storm) begin to develop: outside the sky was overcast and a wind had blown up
  • (of a scandal or dispute) emerge or become public: a crisis blew up between the two countries in 1967
  • 3inflate:my stomach had started to blow up

blow someone up

informal, dated reprimand someone severely:she got blown up by her boss for being late

blow something up

  • 1cause something to explode: they blew the plane up on the ground with dynamite
  • 2inflate something:a small pump for blowing up balloons
  • exaggerate the importance of something:it was a domestic tiff which had been blown up out of all proportion
  • 3enlarge a photograph or text: I blew the picture up on a colour photocopier

Origin:

Old English blāwan, of Germanic origin; related to German blähen 'blow up, swell', from an Indo-European root shared by Latin flare 'blow'

blow in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of blow in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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