Nearby Words
noun
Idioms1.
a sudden, hard stroke with a hand, fist, or weapon: a blow to the head.
2.
a sudden shock, calamity, reversal, etc.: His wife's death was a terrible blow to him.
3.
a sudden attack or drastic action: The invaders struck a blow to the south.
4.
at one blow, with a single act: He became wealthy and famous at one blow. Also, at a blow.
5.
come to blows, to begin to fight, especially to engage in physical combat: They came to blows over the referee's ruling.
6.
strike a blow, to hit.
7.
strike a blow for, to further or advance the cause of: to strike a blow for civil rights.
8.
without striking a blow, without a battle or contest: The military coup was accomplished without striking a blow.
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Blows
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English blaw, northern form representing later blowe; akin to Old High German bliuwan, Gothic bliggwan to beat
1425–75; late Middle English blaw, northern form representing later blowe; akin to Old High German bliuwan, Gothic bliggwan to beat
Synonyms
1. buffet, thump, thwack, rap, slap, cuff, box, beat, knock. 1, 2. Blow, stroke, hit, slap refer to a sudden or forceful impact, but differ in their literal and figurative uses. Blow emphasizes the violence of the impact and, figuratively, adverse fortune: a blow from a hammer; a blow to one's hopes. Stroke emphasizes movement as well as impact; it indicates precision or, figuratively, either good fortune or sudden or unexpected pain or misfortune: the stroke of a piston; a stroke of luck, of lightning; a paralytic stroke. Hit, in its current uses, emphasizes the successful result of a literal or figurative blow, impact, or impression, for example in baseball, social life, the theater: a two-base hit; to make a hit with someone; a smash hit. Slap, a blow with the open hand or with something flat, emphasizes the instrument with which the blow is delivered and, often, the resulting sound; figuratively, it connotes an unfriendly or sarcastic statement, action, or attitude: Her coldness was like a slap in the face; the slap of a beaver's tail on the water.
1. buffet, thump, thwack, rap, slap, cuff, box, beat, knock. 1, 2. Blow, stroke, hit, slap refer to a sudden or forceful impact, but differ in their literal and figurative uses. Blow emphasizes the violence of the impact and, figuratively, adverse fortune: a blow from a hammer; a blow to one's hopes. Stroke emphasizes movement as well as impact; it indicates precision or, figuratively, either good fortune or sudden or unexpected pain or misfortune: the stroke of a piston; a stroke of luck, of lightning; a paralytic stroke. Hit, in its current uses, emphasizes the successful result of a literal or figurative blow, impact, or impression, for example in baseball, social life, the theater: a two-base hit; to make a hit with someone; a smash hit. Slap, a blow with the open hand or with something flat, emphasizes the instrument with which the blow is delivered and, often, the resulting sound; figuratively, it connotes an unfriendly or sarcastic statement, action, or attitude: Her coldness was like a slap in the face; the slap of a beaver's tail on the water.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used without object)
1.
(of the wind or air) to be in motion.
2.
to move along, carried by or as by the wind: Dust seemed to blow through every crack in the house.
3.
to produce or emit a current of air, as with the mouth or a bellows: Blow on your hands to warm them.
4.
(of a horn, trumpet, etc.) to give out sound.
5.
EXPANDto make a blowing sound; whistle: The siren blew just as we rounded the corner.
6.
(of horses) to breathe hard or quickly; pant.
7.
Informal. to boast; brag: He kept blowing about his medals.
8.
Zoology. (of a whale) to spout.
9.
(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.
10.
to burst from internal pressure: Poorly sealed cans will often blow.
11.
COLLAPSESlang. to leave; depart.
verb (used with object)
12.
to drive by means of a current of air: A sudden breeze blew the smoke into the house.
13.
to spread or make widely known: Growing panic blew the rumor about.
14.
to drive a current of air upon.
15.
to clear or empty by forcing air through: Try blowing your nose.
16.
EXPANDto shape (glass, smoke, etc.) with a current of air: to blow smoke rings.
17.
to cause to sound, as by a current of air: Blow your horn at the next crossing.
18.
Jazz. to play (a musical instrument of any kind).
19.
to cause to explode (often followed by up, to bits, etc.): A mine blew the ship to bits.
20.
to burst, melt, burn out, or destroy by exploding, overloading, etc. (often followed by out): to blow a tire; blow a fuse.
21.
to destroy; demolish (usually followed by down, over, etc.): The windstorm blew down his house.
22.
Informal.
a.
to spend money on.
b.
to squander; spend quickly: He blew a fortune on racing cars.
c.
to waste; lose: The team blew the lead by making a bad play.
23.
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!
24.
Slang. to damn: Blow the cost!
25.
to put (a horse) out of breath by fatigue.
26.
Slang. to depart from: to blow town.
27.
Slang: Vulgar. to perform fellatio on.
28.
COLLAPSESlang. to smoke (marijuana or other drugs).
noun
Verb phrases29.
a blast of air or wind: to clean machinery with a blow.
30.
Informal. a violent windstorm, gale, hurricane, or the like: one of the worst blows we ever had around here.
31.
an act of producing a blast of air, as in playing a wind instrument: a few discordant blows by the bugler.
32.
Metallurgy.
a.
a blast of air forced through a converter, as in the production of steel or copper.
b.
the stage of the production process during which this blast is used.
33.
EXPANDCivil Engineering. boil1 (def. 12).
35.
blow away, Slang.
a.
to kill, especially by gunfire: The gang threatened to blow away anyone who talked to the police.
b.
to defeat decisively; trounce: She blew her opponent away in three straight sets.
c.
to overwhelm with emotion, astonishment, etc.: Good poetry just blows me away.
36.
blow down, Metallurgy. to suspend working of (a blast furnace) by smelting the existing charge with a diminishing blast.
37.
blow in,
a.
Slang. to arrive at a place, especially unexpectedly: My uncle just blew in from Sacramento.
b.
Metallurgy. to begin operations in (a blast furnace).
38.
blow out,
a.
to become extinguished: The candles blew out at once.
b.
to lose force or cease: The storm has blown itself out.
c.
(of an oil or gas well) to lose oil or gas uncontrollably.
d.
Metallurgy. to blow down and clean (a blast furnace) in order to shut down.
39.
EXPANDblow over,
a.
to pass away; subside: The storm blew over in five minutes.
b.
to be forgotten: The scandal will eventually blow over.
40.
COLLAPSEblow up,
a.
to come into being: A storm suddenly blew up.
b.
to explode: The ship blew up.
c.
to cause to explode: to blow up a bridge.
d.
to exaggerate; enlarge: He blew up his own role in his account of the project.
e.
Informal. to lose one's temper: When he heard she had quit school, he blew up.
f.
to fill with air; inflate: to blow up a tire.
g.
Photography. to make an enlarged reproduction of.
h.
Mathematics. (of a function) to become infinite.
41.
blow hot and cold, to favor something at first and reject it later on; waver; vacillate: His enthusiasm for the job blows hot and cold.
42.
blow off,
a.
to allow steam to be released.
b.
Informal. to reduce or release tension, as by loud talking.
43.
blow one's cool, Slang. to lose one's composure; become angry, frantic, or flustered.
44.
blow one's cover. cover (def. 53).
45.
EXPANDOrigin:
before 1000; Middle English blowen (v.), Old English blāwan; cognate with Latin flāre to blow
before 1000; Middle English blowen (v.), Old English blāwan; cognate with Latin flāre to blow
noun
1.
a yield or display of blossoms: the lilac's lavender blows.
2.
a display of anything bright or brilliant: a rich, full blow of color.
3.
state of blossoming; a flowering: a border of tulips in full blow.
verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
4.
Archaic. to blossom or cause to blossom.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English blowen (v.), Old English blōwan; akin to German blühen to bloom, Latin flōs flower
before 1000; Middle English blowen (v.), Old English blōwan; akin to German blühen to bloom, Latin flōs flower
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To Blows
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
blow
"hard hit," mid-15c., blowe, from northern and East Midlands dialects, perhaps from M.Du. blouwen "to beat," a common Germanic word of unknown origin (cf. Ger. bleuen, Goth. bliggwan "to strike"). Influenced in English by blow (v.1).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
blow (sth) definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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