blowback
Britishnoun
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the escape to the rear of gases formed during the firing of a weapon or in a boiler, internal-combustion engine, etc
-
the action of a light automatic weapon in which the expanding gases of the propellant force back the bolt, thus reloading the weapon
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.
At first, he kept his extraterrestrial experiences to himself, he said, because he was afraid of the potential blowback.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Spitzer acknowledged the blowback in an interview with The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
Earlier this year, former CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert also canceled the airing of an interview with Talarico on his show after the network’s legal team expressed concern about blowback from the FCC.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Europe is now feeling significant "blowback", according to Professor Liana Fix, a Germany-based expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
He zinged her with that one, and even though it was super petty, all of us were yikes-ing from the blowback.
From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
