blowup
Americannoun
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an explosion.
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a violent argument, outburst of temper, or the like, especially one resulting in estrangement.
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Also blow-up an enlargement of a photograph.
Etymology
Origin of blowup
First recorded in 1800–10; noun use of verb phrase blow up
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.
One lending blowup is showing how America’s banks helped fuel the private-credit boom, and what could happen in its unraveling.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
But by his measure, it’s “only” 1998, when the blowup of Long-Term Capital Management spooked the S&P 500, but the market still had a good distance left to run.
From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026
That may have reached its limits with the blowup over Powell.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026
Ahead of the August 2024 blowup, speculators were extremely short on the yen.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 5, 2025
Before the blowup with Dina, Molly had planned to go to Vivian’s tomorrow, to tell her what she found at the library.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
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.
