blow out

British  

verb

1. to extinguish (a flame, candle, etc) or (of a flame, candle, etc) to become extinguished

2. (intr) (of a tyre) to puncture suddenly, esp at high speed

3. (intr) (of a fuse) to melt suddenly

4. (tr; often reflexive) to diminish or use up the energy of

   the storm blew itself out

5. (intr) (of an oil or gas well) to lose oil or gas in an uncontrolled manner

6. slang (tr) to cancel

   the band had to blow out the gig

7. to kill oneself by shooting oneself in the head

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noun

1. the sudden melting of an electrical fuse

2. a sudden burst in a tyre

3. the uncontrolled escape of oil or gas from an oil or gas well

4. the failure of a jet engine, esp when in flight

5. slang a large filling meal or lavish entertainment

blow out Idioms  

1. Extinguish, especially a flame. For example, The wind blew out the candles very quickly . [1300s]

2. Lose force or cease entirely, as in The storm will soon blow itself out and move out to sea . Also see blow over .

3. Burst or rupture suddenly, as in This tire is about to blow out . This usage alludes to the escape of air under pressure. [Early 1900s]

4. Also, blow out of the water . Defeat decisively, as in With a great new product and excellent publicity, we could blow the competition out of the water . This term originally was used in mid-19th-century naval warfare, where it meant to blast or shoot another vessel to pieces. It later was transferred to athletic and other kinds of defeat. [ Slang ; mid-1900s]

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Example Sentences

Duke, the 2026 top overall seed, has a score of 38.90—meaning the Blue Devils would be expected to blow out a team by nearly 39 points over 100 possessions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

That’s because spreads tend to quickly blow out in a crisis, as they did in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and the pandemic that began in 2020.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 3, 2026

So I decided to blow out the tenets of my current kitchen triage — salt, acid, oregano — into a full-blown meal.

From Salon • Aug. 26, 2025

It’s common for tires to blow out in a fire, with pressure building until the air whooshes out with a loud pop.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 24, 2024

“I never thought there was anything powerful enough to blow out a steel tube like this. Bursting pressure’s got to be in the neighborhood of twenty thousand pounds per square inch, even with the weld.”

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Related Words

• dampen
• daunt
• debilitate
• deject
• disconcert
• discourage
• dishearten
• disorganize
• dispirit
• disturb
• embarrass
• sap
• undermine
• unsettle
• upset
• weaken