blow off
Britishverb
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to permit (a gas under pressure, esp steam) to be released
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slang (intr) to emit wind noisily from the anus
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informal (tr) to reject or jilt (someone)
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See steam
noun
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a discharge of a surplus fluid, such as steam, under pressure
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a device through which such a discharge is made
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Vent one's strong feelings; see blow off steam .
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Disregard, ignore; evade something important. For example, If you blow off your homework, you're bound to run into trouble on the exam . [ Slang ; second half of 1900s]
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Overcome, defeat easily, as in With Rob pitching, we'll have no trouble blowing off the opposing team . [ Slang ; 1950s] Also see blow away , def. 2.
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Ignore, abandon, refuse to take part. For example, The college is blowing off our request for a new student center . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]
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.
For days when Usher needs to blow off some steam, he need only head to the basketball court or the custom yoga deck.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Usually, it’s the small things that, repeated daily, push family members traveling together to a point of needing to blow off some steam.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025
These suggestions will be easy to blow off if they are left to local managers to execute and enforce.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 16, 2025
That prompted a radical change of approach that led to the Kazakh taking a trip to Las Vegas that month to blow off some steam.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2025
“It is a credit to your navigational skills that we did not blow off course.”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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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.