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Synonyms

blow away

British  

verb

  1. to kill (someone) by shooting

  2. to defeat decisively

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
blow away Idioms  

  1. Kill, especially by gunshot or explosion. For example, The unit reported that the whole village was blown away . This usage became particularly widespread in the 1960s, during the Vietnam War. [ Slang ; early 1990s]

  2. Overcome easily; defeat decisively. For example, Ann said the test would be easy; she would just blow it away , or Jim was sure his crew could blow away their opponents . [ Slang ; 1960s] Also see blow off , def. 5.

  3. Impress greatly, overwhelm with surprise, delight, or shock, as in That music really blew me away . [ Slang ; c. 1970] Also see blow one's mind .

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.

Many are ephemeral; fleeting leaf sculptures that blow away into the forest or giant snowballs placed in the city of London which melted to disclose sticks and stones.

From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026

The machine will have to be designed so that the powder won’t blow away when air is pulled through the machine.

From NewsForKids.net • Dec. 4, 2024

However, previous simulations of already-formed clusters suggested that stellar winds blow away most of their mass, leaving them too small.

From Science Daily • May 30, 2024

“The answer is that it could blow away in winds that are not anywhere near severe levels. Some of these cases were in purely clear skies.”

From New York Times • Apr. 30, 2024

At least there was some breeze that day to blow away the smell.

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich

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.