blow up

British  

verb

1. to explode or cause to explode

2. (tr) to increase the importance of (something)

   they blew the whole affair up

3. (intr) to come into consideration

   we lived well enough before this thing blew up

4. (intr) to come into existence with sudden force

   a storm had blown up

5. informal to lose one's temper (with a person)

6. informal (tr) to reprimand (someone)

7. informal (tr) to enlarge the size or detail of (a photograph)

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noun

1. an explosion

2. informal an enlarged photograph or part of a photograph

3. informal a fit of temper or argument

4. Also called: blowing up.  informal a reprimand

blow up Idioms  

1. Explode or cause to explode. For example, The squadron was told to blow up the bridge , or Jim was afraid his experiment would blow up the lab . The term is sometimes amplified, as in blow up in one's face . [Late 1500s]

2. Lose one's temper, as in I'm sorry I blew up at you . Mark Twain used this metaphor for an actual explosion in one of his letters (1871): “Redpath tells me to blow up. Here goes!” [ Colloquial ; second half of 1800s]

3. Inflate, fill with air, as in If you don't blow up those tires you're sure to have a flat . [Early 1400s]

4. Enlarge, especially a photograph, as in If we blow up this picture, you'll be able to make out the expressions on their faces . [c. 1930]

5. Exaggerate the importance of something or someone, as in Tom has a tendency to blow up his own role in the affair . This term applies the “inflate” of def. 3 to importance. It was used in this sense in England from the early 1500s to the 1700s, but then became obsolete there although it remains current in America.

6. Collapse, fail, as in Graduate-student marriages often blow up soon after the couple earn their degrees . [ Slang ; mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blow up

The GIFs of the Owens’ Massachusetts estate, with its cozy fireplaces perfect for pajama lounging, still blow up Tumblr every October.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

“She asked me, ‘Mom, are they going to blow up the Federal Building?’

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

It was the only way Black seemed to be able to make sense of Ganieva’s decision to blow up their agreement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

Everyone has AI fatigue, and it is too hard to say who wins, who loses and who might blow up.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

The thermostat was turned all the way up and the furnace was banging and sounding like it was about to blow up but it still felt like Jack Frost had moved in with us.

From "The Watsons Go to Birmingham" by Christopher Paul Curtis

Related Words

• blast
• bomb
• burst
• detonate
• dynamite
• erupt
• go off
• rupture
• shatter