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Synonyms

blow a fuse

Idioms  

  1. Also, blow a gasket. Lose one's temper, express furious anger. For example, When his paycheck bounced, John blew a fuse, or Tell Mom what really happened before she blows a gasket. An electric fuse is said to “blow” (melt) when the circuit is overloaded, whereas a gasket, used to seal a piston, “blows” (breaks) when the pressure is too high. The first of these slangy terms dates from the 1930s, the second from the 1940s. Also see blow one's top; keep one's cool.

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.

It’s a great song pick with manic crescendos — You blow a fuse, zing boom!

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2025

Burn's challenge on Gabriel in the box caused Mikel Arteta to blow a fuse when the penalty appeal was denied.

From BBC • Jan. 5, 2023

A putting robot would blow a fuse trying to make all those putts because the ball will behave differently every time.

From Golf Digest • Oct. 19, 2016

What I wish to do is to seriously blow a fuse in the things that we’re so certain of.

From Washington Post • Aug. 20, 2015

His arms are folded tight and he looks ready to blow a fuse.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

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.