blow
1 Americannoun
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a sudden, hard stroke with a hand, fist, or weapon.
a blow to the head.
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a sudden shock, calamity, reversal, etc..
His wife's death was a terrible blow to him.
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a sudden attack or drastic action.
The invaders struck a blow to the south.
idioms
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strike a blow, to hit.
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without striking a blow, without a battle or contest.
The military coup was accomplished without striking a blow.
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strike a blow for, to further or advance the cause of.
to strike a blow for civil rights.
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come to blows, to begin to fight, especially to engage in physical combat.
They came to blows over the referee's ruling.
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at one blow, with a single act: Also at a blow.
He became wealthy and famous at one blow.
verb (used without object)
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(of the wind or air) to be in motion.
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to move along, carried by or as by the wind.
Dust seemed to blow through every crack in the house.
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to produce or emit a current of air, as with the mouth or a bellows.
Blow on your hands to warm them.
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(of a horn, trumpet, etc.) to give out sound.
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to make a blowing sound; whistle.
The siren blew just as we rounded the corner.
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(of horses) to breathe hard or quickly; pant.
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Zoology. (of a whale) to spout.
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(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.
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to burst from internal pressure.
Poorly sealed cans will often blow.
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Slang. to leave; depart.
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Slang: Vulgar. to perform fellatio on a man.
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Slang. to be unpleasant or unfortunate.
He’s so broke that he has to move back in with his parents, which totally blows.
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Slang. to be inferior, as in quality or execution.
The vacation package blew so bad that everyone is asking the resort for a refund.
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Informal. to boast; brag.
He kept blowing about his medals.
verb (used with object)
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to drive by means of a current of air.
A sudden breeze blew the smoke into the house.
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to spread or make widely known.
Growing panic blew the rumor about.
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to drive a current of air upon.
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to clear or empty by forcing air through.
Try blowing your nose.
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to shape (glass, smoke, etc.) with a current of air.
to blow smoke rings.
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to cause to sound, as by a current of air.
Blow your horn at the next crossing.
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Jazz. to play (a musical instrument of any kind).
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to cause to explode (often followed by up, to bits, etc.).
A mine blew the ship to bits.
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to burst, melt, burn out, or destroy by exploding, overloading, etc. (often followed byout ).
to blow a tire; blow a fuse.
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to destroy; demolish (usually followed by down, over, etc.).
The windstorm blew down his house.
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Informal.
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to spend money on.
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to squander; spend quickly.
He blew a fortune on racing cars.
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to waste; lose.
The team blew the lead by making a bad play.
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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!
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to put (a horse) out of breath by fatigue.
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Slang. to depart from.
to blow town.
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Slang: Vulgar. to perform fellatio on: Blow me!
She was blowing strangers for money to support her drug habit.
Blow me!
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Slang. to smoke (marijuana or other drugs).
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Slang. to damn.
Blow the cost!
noun
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a blast of air or wind.
to clean machinery with a blow.
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Informal. a violent windstorm, gale, hurricane, or the like.
one of the worst blows we ever had around here.
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an act of producing a blast of air, as in playing a wind instrument.
a few discordant blows by the bugler.
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Slang. cocaine.
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Metallurgy.
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a blast of air forced through a converter, as in the production of steel or copper.
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the stage of the production process during which this blast is used.
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Civil Engineering. boil.
verb phrase
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blow out
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to become extinguished.
The candles blew out at once.
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to lose force or cease.
The storm has blown itself out.
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(of an oil or gas well) to lose oil or gas uncontrollably.
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Metallurgy. to blow down and clean (a blast furnace) in order to shut down.
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blow away
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to kill, especially by gunfire.
The gang threatened to blow away anyone who talked to the police.
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to defeat decisively; trounce.
She blew her opponent away in three straight sets.
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to overwhelm with emotion, astonishment, etc..
Good poetry just blows me away.
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blow over
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to pass away; subside.
The storm blew over in five minutes.
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to be forgotten.
The scandal will eventually blow over.
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blow up
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to come into being.
A storm suddenly blew up.
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to explode.
The ship blew up.
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to cause to explode.
to blow up a bridge.
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to exaggerate; enlarge.
He blew up his own role in his account of the project.
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Informal. to lose one's temper.
When he heard she had quit school, he blew up.
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to fill with air; inflate.
to blow up a tire.
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Slang. to surge in interest or popularity, or suddenly achieve great success.
She’s a big celebrity now—her YouTube channel is blowing up.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Photography. to make an enlarged reproduction of.
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Mathematics. (of a function) to become infinite.
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blow off
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to allow steam to be released.
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Informal. to reduce or release tension, as by loud talking.
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Informal. to ignore, evade, or treat as unimportant.
I mentioned his insulting remark, and he just blew the whole thing off.
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Informal. to not go to or participate in.
He blew off his first-period class three times that week.
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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.
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Informal. to end a romantic or other relationship with.
He blew me off after our third date.
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blow in
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Slang. to arrive at a place, especially unexpectedly.
My uncle just blew in from Sacramento.
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Metallurgy. to begin operations in (a blast furnace).
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blow down to suspend working of (a blast furnace) by smelting the existing charge with a diminishing blast.
idioms
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blow one's stack, stack.
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blow one's lines, to forget or make an error in a speaking part or stage directions.
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blow one's cover. cover.
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blow chunks, chunk.
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blow one's mind, mind.
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blow one's cool, to lose one's composure; become angry, frantic, or flustered.
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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.
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blow off steam, steam. Also let off steam
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blow one's top, top.
noun
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a yield or display of blossoms.
the lilac's lavender blows.
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a display of anything bright or brilliant.
a rich, full blow of color.
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state of blossoming; a flowering.
a border of tulips in full blow.
verb (used with or without object)
verb
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(of a current of air, the wind, etc) to be or cause to be in motion
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(intr) to move or be carried by or as if by wind or air
a feather blew in through the window
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to expel (air, cigarette smoke, etc) through the mouth or nose
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to force or cause (air, dust, etc) to move (into, in, over, etc) by using an instrument or by expelling breath
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(intr) to breathe hard; pant
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(sometimes foll by up) to inflate with air or the breath
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(intr) (of wind, a storm, etc) to make a roaring or whistling sound
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to cause (a whistle, siren, etc) to sound by forcing air into it, as a signal, or (of a whistle, etc) to sound thus
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(tr) to force air from the lungs through (the nose) to clear out mucus or obstructing matter
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to explode, break, or disintegrate completely
the bridge blew down in the gale
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electronics to burn out (a fuse, valve, etc) because of excessive current or (of a fuse, valve, etc) to burn out
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slang to lose one's temper
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(intr) (of a whale) to spout water or air from the lungs
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(tr) to wind (a horse) by making it run excessively
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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
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slang (intr) jazz to play in a jam session
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(intr) (of flies) to lay eggs (in)
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to shape (glass, ornaments, etc) by forcing air or gas through the material when molten
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(intr) to boast or brag
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slang (tr)
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to spend (money) freely
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to treat or entertain
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slang (tr) to use (an opportunity) ineffectively
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slang to go suddenly away (from)
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slang (tr) to expose or betray (a person or thing meant to be kept secret)
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slang (tr) to inhale (a drug)
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slang (intr) to masturbate
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informal another word for damn
I'll be blowed
blow it!
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draughts another word for huff
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to vacillate
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to kiss one's hand, then blow across it as if to carry the kiss through the air to another person
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to boast of one's own skills or good qualities
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slang
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(of a drug, esp LSD) to alter someone's mental state
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to astound or surprise someone
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informal to lose one's temper
noun
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the act or an instance of blowing
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the sound produced by blowing
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a blast of air or wind
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metallurgy
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a stage in the Bessemer process in which air is blasted upwards through molten pig iron
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the quantity of metal treated in a Bessemer converter
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mining
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a rush of air into a mine
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the collapse of a mine roof
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slang jazz a jam session
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noun
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a powerful or heavy stroke with the fist, a weapon, etc
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by or with only one action; all at one time
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a sudden setback; unfortunate event
to come as a blow
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to fight
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to result in a fight
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an attacking action
a blow for freedom
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a stroke of the shears in sheep-shearing
verb
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(intr) (of a plant or flower) to blossom or open out
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(tr) to produce (flowers)
noun
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a mass of blossoms
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the state or period of blossoming (esp in the phrase in full blow )
Usage
What is a basic definition of blow? 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.
Related Words
Blow, stroke, hit, slap refer to a sudden or forceful impact, but differ in their literal and figurative uses. Blow emphasizes the violence of the impact and, figuratively, adverse fortune: a blow from a hammer; a blow to one's hopes. Stroke emphasizes movement as well as impact; it indicates precision or, figuratively, either good fortune or sudden or unexpected pain or misfortune: the stroke of a piston; a stroke of luck, of lightning; a paralytic stroke. Hit, in its current uses, emphasizes the successful result of a literal or figurative blow, impact, or impression, for example in baseball, social life, the theater: a two-base hit; to make a hit with someone; a smash hit. Slap, a blow with the open hand or with something flat, emphasizes the instrument with which the blow is delivered and, often, the resulting sound; figuratively, it connotes an unfriendly or sarcastic statement, action, or attitude: Her coldness was like a slap in the face; the slap of a beaver's tail on the water.
Etymology
Origin of blow1
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English blaw, northern and Scottish form representing later blowe; akin to Old High German bliuwan, Gothic bliggwan “to beat”
Origin of blow2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb blowen, Old English blāwan; akin to Latin flāre “to blow”
Origin of blow3
First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb blowen, Old English blōwan; akin to German blühen “to bloom,” Latin flōs flower
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The report said that a CBP officer was confronted by two women blowing whistles at around 9 a.m.
He faced a fresh blow Tuesday as data showed US consumer confidence plunged in January to its lowest level since 2014.
From Barron's
The plan would deal a big blow to major health insurers, which altogether are estimated to count on their Medicare Advantage plans for more than $500 billion in yearly revenue.
The proposal dealt a blow to insurance companies that have been pushing to turn around a business that is central to their finances and hopes for growth.
I think it’s that not-quite-there quality of hers, like she could blow away with a strong gust of wind.
From Literature
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.
