blow
1a sudden, hard stroke with a hand, fist, or weapon: a blow to the head.
a sudden shock, calamity, reversal, etc.: His wife's death was a terrible blow to him.
a sudden attack or drastic action: The invaders struck a blow to the south.
Idioms about blow
at one blow, with a single act: He became wealthy and famous at one blow.: Also at a blow.
come to blows, to begin to fight, especially to engage in physical combat: They came to blows over the referee's ruling.
strike a blow, to hit.
strike a blow for, to further or advance the cause of: to strike a blow for civil rights.
without striking a blow, without a battle or contest: The military coup was accomplished without striking a blow.
Origin of blow
1synonym study For blow
Other words for blow
Other definitions for blow (2 of 3)
(of the wind or air) to be in motion.
to move along, carried by or as by the wind: Dust seemed to blow through every crack in the house.
to produce or emit a current of air, as with the mouth or a bellows: Blow on your hands to warm them.
(of a horn, trumpet, etc.) to give out sound.
to make a blowing sound; whistle: The siren blew just as we rounded the corner.
(of horses) to breathe hard or quickly; pant.
Zoology. (of a whale) to spout.
(of a fuse, light bulb, vacuum tube, tire, etc.) to burst, melt, stop functioning, or be destroyed by exploding, overloading, etc. (often followed by out): A fuse blew just as we sat down to dinner. The rear tire blew out.
to burst from internal pressure: Poorly sealed cans will often blow.
Slang. to leave; depart.
Slang: Vulgar. to perform fellatio on a man.
Slang. to be unpleasant or unfortunate: He’s so broke that he has to move back in with his parents, which totally blows.
Slang. to be inferior, as in quality or execution: The vacation package blew so bad that everyone is asking the resort for a refund.
Informal. to boast; brag: He kept blowing about his medals.
to drive by means of a current of air: A sudden breeze blew the smoke into the house.
to spread or make widely known: Growing panic blew the rumor about.
to drive a current of air upon.
to clear or empty by forcing air through: Try blowing your nose.
to shape (glass, smoke, etc.) with a current of air: to blow smoke rings.
to cause to sound, as by a current of air: Blow your horn at the next crossing.
Jazz. to play (a musical instrument of any kind).
to cause to explode (often followed by up, to bits, etc.): A mine blew the ship to bits.
to burst, melt, burn out, or destroy by exploding, overloading, etc. (often followed by out): to blow a tire; blow a fuse.
to destroy; demolish (usually followed by down, over, etc.): The windstorm blew down his house.
Informal.
to spend money on.
to squander; spend quickly: He blew a fortune on racing cars.
to waste; lose: The team blew the lead by making a bad play.
Informal. to mishandle, ruin, botch; make a mess of; bungle: With one stupid mistake he blew the whole project. It was your last chance and you blew it!
to put (a horse) out of breath by fatigue.
Slang. to depart from: to blow town.
Slang: Vulgar. to perform fellatio on: She was blowing strangers for money to support her drug habit. Blow me!
Slang. to smoke (marijuana or other drugs).
Slang. to damn: Blow the cost!
a blast of air or wind: to clean machinery with a blow.
Informal. a violent windstorm, gale, hurricane, or the like: one of the worst blows we ever had around here.
an act of producing a blast of air, as in playing a wind instrument: a few discordant blows by the bugler.
Slang. cocaine.
Metallurgy.
a blast of air forced through a converter, as in the production of steel or copper.
the stage of the production process during which this blast is used.
Civil Engineering. boil1 (def. 12).
blow away, Slang.
to kill, especially by gunfire: The gang threatened to blow away anyone who talked to the police.
to defeat decisively; trounce: She blew her opponent away in three straight sets.
to overwhelm with emotion, astonishment, etc.: Good poetry just blows me away.
blow down, Metallurgy. to suspend working of (a blast furnace) by smelting the existing charge with a diminishing blast.
blow in,
Slang. to arrive at a place, especially unexpectedly: My uncle just blew in from Sacramento.
Metallurgy. to begin operations in (a blast furnace).
blow off,
to allow steam to be released.
Informal. to reduce or release tension, as by loud talking.
Informal. to ignore, evade, or treat as unimportant: I mentioned his insulting remark, and he just blew the whole thing off.
Informal. to not go to or participate in: He blew off his first-period class three times that week.
Informal. to fail to meet (someone) as planned without alerting the person beforehand: I waited 20 minutes before I realized my sister had blown me off.
Informal. to end a romantic or other relationship with: He blew me off after our third date.
blow out,
to become extinguished: The candles blew out at once.
to lose force or cease: The storm has blown itself out.
(of an oil or gas well) to lose oil or gas uncontrollably.
Metallurgy. to blow down and clean (a blast furnace) in order to shut down.
blow over,
to pass away; subside: The storm blew over in five minutes.
to be forgotten: The scandal will eventually blow over.
blow up,
to come into being: A storm suddenly blew up.
to explode: The ship blew up.
to cause to explode: to blow up a bridge.
to exaggerate; enlarge: He blew up his own role in his account of the project.
Informal. to lose one's temper: When he heard she had quit school, he blew up.
to fill with air; inflate: to blow up a tire.
Slang. to surge in interest or popularity, or suddenly achieve great success: She’s a big celebrity now—her YouTube channel is blowing up.
Slang. (of a story, image, etc.) to dominate (the media) or be spread rapidly or widely on (the internet or a website): The scandal has been blowing up the national news reports. His offensive comments blew up Twitter.
Slang. to repeatedly call or send a high volume of continuous text messages or emails to (a digital account): This girl was blowing up my phone with her annoying texts.
Slang. to have a surge in text messages, emails, phone calls, etc.: My inbox blew up right after I posted the photo. Her phone was blowing up with concerned calls from family and friends.
Photography. to make an enlarged reproduction of.
Mathematics. (of a function) to become infinite.
Origin of blow
2Other definitions for blow (3 of 3)
a yield or display of blossoms: the lilac's lavender blows.
a display of anything bright or brilliant: a rich, full blow of color.
state of blossoming; a flowering: a border of tulips in full blow.
Archaic. to blossom or cause to blossom.
Origin of blow
3Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use blow in a sentence
In fact, Clark fell back first from her blows, losing his cap, tie, and badge in the melee.
Dr. King Goes to Hollywood: The Flawed History of ‘Selma’ | Gary May | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTOver the past week, Sony Pictures Entertainment has received more body blows than Muhammad Ali during the Rumble in the Jungle.
Sony: Hollywood’s Most Subversive Studio Under Attack | Marlow Stern | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut, yes, there do need to be some ideological blows exchanged.
What Republicans Need Right Now Is a Good Internal Fight | James Poulos | November 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThis is a very broad answer, but I feel like the amount of people I admire who I know think of as friends blows my mind.
How Aidy Bryant Stealthily Became Your Favorite ‘Saturday Night Live’ Star | Kevin Fallon | October 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe ensuing night gave me the grand migraine of my life, with throbs like the blows of an ax and continuous pinwheels.
The Stacks: H.L. Mencken on the 1904 Baltimore Fire | H.L. Mencken | October 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Under so many savage blows, the labouring mountains brought forth Turks.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonAnd all the while she fought him, she punctuated her blows with words, some abusing him, others in defense of her father.
The Homesteader | Oscar MicheauxThen he goes out, gits into his Pullman section, blows his punkin whistle and departs.
Alec Lloyd, Cowpuncher | Eleanor GatesThe blows stung, and Black Sheep struck back at random with all the power at his command.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II | Rudyard KiplingHe wears it fastened around his throat, turning his head from side to side as he blows, while with his hands he beats a drum.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building | George Laing Miller
British Dictionary definitions for blow (1 of 3)
/ (bləʊ) /
(of a current of air, the wind, etc) to be or cause to be in motion
(intr) to move or be carried by or as if by wind or air: a feather blew in through the window
to expel (air, cigarette smoke, etc) through the mouth or nose
to force or cause (air, dust, etc) to move (into, in, over, etc) by using an instrument or by expelling breath
(intr) to breathe hard; pant
(sometimes foll by up) to inflate with air or the breath
(intr) (of wind, a storm, etc) to make a roaring or whistling sound
to cause (a whistle, siren, etc) to sound by forcing air into it, as a signal, or (of a whistle, etc) to sound thus
(tr) to force air from the lungs through (the nose) to clear out mucus or obstructing matter
(often foll by up, down, in, etc) to explode, break, or disintegrate completely: the bridge blew down in the gale
electronics to burn out (a fuse, valve, etc) because of excessive current or (of a fuse, valve, etc) to burn out
blow a fuse slang to lose one's temper
(intr) (of a whale) to spout water or air from the lungs
(tr) to wind (a horse) by making it run excessively
to cause (a wind instrument) to sound by forcing one's breath into the mouthpiece, or (of such an instrument) to sound in this way
(intr) jazz slang to play in a jam session
(intr) (of flies) to lay eggs (in)
to shape (glass, ornaments, etc) by forcing air or gas through the material when molten
(intr) mainly Scot, Australian and NZ to boast or brag
(tr) slang
to spend (money) freely
US to treat or entertain
(tr) slang to use (an opportunity) ineffectively
slang to go suddenly away (from)
(tr) slang to expose or betray (a person or thing meant to be kept secret)
(tr) US slang to inhale (a drug)
(intr) slang to masturbate
past participle blowed informal another word for damn I'll be blowed; blow it!
draughts another word for huff (def. 4)
blow hot and cold to vacillate
blow a kiss or blow kisses to kiss one's hand, then blow across it as if to carry the kiss through the air to another person
blow one's own trumpet to boast of one's own skills or good qualities
blow someone's mind slang
(of a drug, esp LSD) to alter someone's mental state
esp US and Canadian to astound or surprise someone
blow one's top, esp US and Canadian blow one's stack or blow one's lid informal to lose one's temper
the act or an instance of blowing
the sound produced by blowing
a blast of air or wind
metallurgy
a stage in the Bessemer process in which air is blasted upwards through molten pig iron
the quantity of metal treated in a Bessemer converter
mining
a rush of air into a mine
the collapse of a mine roof
jazz slang a jam session
British a slang name for cannabis (def. 2)
US a slang name for cocaine
Origin of blow
1British Dictionary definitions for blow (2 of 3)
/ (bləʊ) /
a powerful or heavy stroke with the fist, a weapon, etc
at one blow or at a blow by or with only one action; all at one time
a sudden setback; unfortunate event: to come as a blow
come to blows
to fight
to result in a fight
an attacking action: a blow for freedom
Australian and NZ a stroke of the shears in sheep-shearing
Origin of blow
2British Dictionary definitions for blow (3 of 3)
/ (bləʊ) /
(intr) (of a plant or flower) to blossom or open out
(tr) to produce (flowers)
a mass of blossoms
the state or period of blossoming (esp in the phrase in full blow)
Origin of blow
3Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with blow
In addition to the idioms beginning with blow
- blow a fuse
- blow away
- blow by blow
- blow hot and cold
- blow in
- blow it
- blow off
- blow off steam
- blow one's brains out
- blow one's cool
- blow one's cover
- blow one's mind
- blow one's own horn
- blow one's top
- blow out
- blow over
- blow sky-high
- blow someone to
- blow the lid off
- blow the whistle on
- blow up
also see:
- at one stroke (blow)
- body blow
- come to blows
- keep (blow) one's cool
- low blow
- way the wind blows
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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