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blast - 15 dictionary results

blast

[blast, blahst]

Use blast in a Sentence

–noun

1.	a sudden and violent gust of wind: Wintry blasts chilled us to the marrow.

2.	the blowing of a trumpet, whistle, etc.: One blast of the siren was enough to clear the street.

3.	a loud, sudden sound or noise: The radio let out an awful blast before I could turn it off.

4.	a forcible stream of air from the mouth, bellows, or the like.

Machinery.

a.	air forced into a furnace by a blower to increase the rate of combustion.

b.	a jet of steam directed up a smokestack, as of a steam locomotive, to increase draft.

c.	a draft thus increased.

6.	a forceful or explosive throw, hit, etc.: a blast down the third-base line.

Slang.

a.	a party or riotously good time: Did we have a blast last night!

b.	something that gives great pleasure or enjoyment; thrill; treat: My new electronic game is a blast.

8.	a vigorous outburst of criticism; attack.

9.	blast wave.

10.	Mining, Civil Engineering. the charge of dynamite or other explosive used at one firing in blasting operations.

11.	the act of exploding; explosion: Some say the blast was in the next county.

12.	any pernicious or destructive influence, esp. on animals or plants; a blight.

13.	the sudden death of buds, flowers, or young fruit.

–verb (used with object)

14.	to make a loud noise on; blow (a trumpet, automobile horn, etc.): He blasted his horn irritably at every car in his way.

15.	to cause to shrivel or wither; blight.

16.	to affect with any pernicious influence; ruin; destroy: Failure in the exam blasted her hopes for college. It was an indiscretion that blasted his good reputation.

17.	to break up or dislodge (a tree stump, rock, etc.): Their explosives were inadequate to blast the granite.

18.	to make, form, open up, etc., by blasting: to blast a tunnel through a mountain.

19.	to show to be false, unreliable, etc.; discredit: His facts soundly blasted the new evidence.

20.	Informal. to curse; damn (usually fol. by it or an object): Blast it, there's the phone again! Blast the time, we've got to finish this work.

21.	to censure or criticize vigorously; denounce: In his campaign speech he really blasts the other party.

22.	to hit or propel with great force: He blasted a homer that tied the game. They were blasted into outer space.

23.	to shoot: The terrorists blasted him down.

–verb (used without object)

24.	to produce a loud, blaring sound: The trumpets blasted as the overture began. His voice blasted until the microphone was turned down.

25.	to shoot: He whipped out his revolver and started blasting.

26.	Slang. to take narcotics.

—Verb phrase

27.

blast off,

a.	(of a rocket) to leave a launch pad under its own power.

b.	(of an astronaut) to travel aloft in a rocket.

—Idiom

28.	at full blast, at maximum capacity; at or with full volume or speed: The factory is going at full blast. Also, full blast.

Origin:
bef. 1000; 1955–60 for def. 7a; ME (n. and v.); OE blǣst (n.) a blowing; akin to ON blāstr, OHG blāst (deriv. of blāsan, c. Goth ufblēsan, ON blāsa). See blow ²

Related forms:

blaster, noun

blasty, adjective

Synonyms:
1. squall, gale, blow, storm. See wind ¹ . 2. blare, screech. 11. discharge, outburst. 16. annihilate.

-blast

var. of blasto- as final element of a compound word: ectoblast.

blasto-

a combining form meaning “bud, sprout,” “embryo,” “formative cells or cell layer,” used in the formation of compound words: blastosphere.

Also, -blast.

Origin:
< Gk, comb. form of blastós a bud, sprout

blast wave

–noun

a violent propagating disturbance, produced by an explosion in air, that consists of an abrupt rise in pressure followed by a drop in pressure to or below atmospheric pressure.

Also, blast.

Compare shock wave.

Origin:
1935–40

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To blast

blast (blāst)

1. A very strong gust of wind or air.
2. The effect of such a gust.
3. A sudden loud sound, especially one produced by a stream of forced air: a piercing blast from the steam whistle.
4. The act of producing such a sound: gave a blast on his trumpet.
5. A violent explosion, as of dynamite or a bomb.
6. The violent effect of such an explosion, consisting of a wave of increased atmospheric pressure followed immediately by a wave of decreased pressure.
7. An explosive charge.
A forcible stream of air, gas, or steam from an opening, especially one in a blast furnace to aid combustion.
1. A sudden loud sound, especially one produced by a stream of forced air: a piercing blast from the steam whistle.
2. The act of producing such a sound: gave a blast on his trumpet.
3. A violent explosion, as of dynamite or a bomb.
4. The violent effect of such an explosion, consisting of a wave of increased atmospheric pressure followed immediately by a wave of decreased pressure.
5. An explosive charge.
1. A violent explosion, as of dynamite or a bomb.
2. The violent effect of such an explosion, consisting of a wave of increased atmospheric pressure followed immediately by a wave of decreased pressure.
3. An explosive charge.
Botany Any of several plant diseases of diverse causes, resulting in sudden death of buds, flowers, foliage, or young fruits.
A destructive or damaging influence.
A powerful hit, blow, or shot.
A violent verbal assault or outburst: The candidate leveled a blast at her opponent.
Slang A highly exciting or pleasurable experience or event, such as a big party.

v. blast·ed, blast·ing, blasts

v. tr.

To knock down or shatter by or as if by explosion; smash.
To play or sound loudly: The referees blasted their whistles.
1. To hit with great force: The batter blasted the ball to right field.
2. To kill or destroy by hitting or shooting.
To have a harmful or destructive effect on.
To cause to shrivel, wither, or mature imperfectly by or as if by blast or blight: crops that were blasted by frost.
To make or open by or as if by explosion: blast a tunnel through the mountains.
To criticize or attack vigorously.

v. intr.

To use or detonate explosives.
To emit a loud, intense sound; blare: speakers blasting at full volume.
To wither or shrivel or mature imperfectly.
To criticize or attack with vigor.
To shoot.
Electronics To distort sound recording or transmission by overloading a microphone or loudspeaker.

Phrasal Verb(s):
blast offTo take off, as a rocket.

Idiom(s):
full blastAt full speed, volume, or capacity: turned the radio up full blast.

[Middle English, from Old English blǣst; see bhlē- in Indo-European roots.]
blast'er n.

Synonyms: These verbs mean to have a pernicious, destructive, or ruinous effect on something: actions that blasted the chance for peace; hopes blighted by ill wishes; ambitions dashed by lack of funds; plans nipped in the bud; a life wrecked by depression.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Blast

Blast\ (bl[.a]st), n. [AS. bl[=ae]st a puff of wind, a blowing; akin to Icel. bl[=a]str, OHG. bl[=a]st, and fr. a verb akin to Icel. bl[=a]sa to blow, OHG. bl[^a]san, Goth. bl[=e]san (in comp.); all prob. from the same root as E. blow. See Blow to eject air.]

1. A violent gust of wind.

And see where surly Winter passes off, Far to the north, and calls his ruffian blasts; His blasts obey, and quit the howling hill. --Thomson.

2. A forcible stream of air from an orifice, as from a bellows, the mouth, etc. Hence: The continuous blowing to which one charge of ore or metal is subjected in a furnace; as, to melt so many tons of iron at a blast.

Note: The terms hot blast and cold blast are employed to designate whether the current is heated or not heated before entering the furnace. A blast furnace is said to be in blast while it is in operation, and out of blast when not in use.

3. The exhaust steam from and engine, driving a column of air out of a boiler chimney, and thus creating an intense draught through the fire; also, any draught produced by the blast.

4. The sound made by blowing a wind instrument; strictly, the sound produces at one breath.

One blast upon his bugle horn Were worth a thousand men. --Sir W. Scott.

The blast of triumph o'er thy grave. --Bryant.

5. A sudden, pernicious effect, as if by a noxious wind, especially on animals and plants; a blight.

By the blast of God they perish. --Job iv. 9.

Virtue preserved from fell destruction's blast. --Shak.

6. The act of rending, or attempting to rend, heavy masses of rock, earth, etc., by the explosion of gunpowder, dynamite, etc.; also, the charge used for this purpose. "Large blasts are often used." --Tomlinson.

7. A flatulent disease of sheep.

Blast furnace, a furnace, usually a shaft furnace for smelting ores, into which air is forced by pressure.

Blast hole, a hole in the bottom of a pump stock through which water enters.

Blast nozzle, a fixed or variable orifice in the delivery end of a blast pipe; -- called also blast orifice.

In full blast, in complete operation; in a state of great activity. See Blast, n., 2. [Colloq.]

Blast

Blast\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blasted; p. pr. & vb. n. Blasting.]

1. To injure, as by a noxious wind; to cause to wither; to stop or check the growth of, and prevent from fruit-bearing, by some pernicious influence; to blight; to shrivel.

Seven thin ears, and blasted with the east wind. --Gen. xii. 6.

2. Hence, to affect with some sudden violence, plague, calamity, or blighting influence, which destroys or causes to fail; to visit with a curse; to curse; to ruin; as, to blast pride, hopes, or character.

I'll cross it, though it blast me. --Shak.

Blasted with excess of light. --T. Gray.

3. To confound by a loud blast or din.

Trumpeters, With brazen din blast you the city's ear. --Shak.

4. To rend open by any explosive agent, as gunpowder, dynamite, etc.; to shatter; as, to blast rocks.

Blast

Blast\, v. i. 1. To be blighted or withered; as, the bud blasted in the blossom.

2. To blow; to blow on a trumpet. [Obs.]

Toke his blake trumpe faste And gan to puffen and to blaste. --Chaucer.

Language Translation for : blast

Spanish: ráfaga,

German: der Windstoß,

Japanese: 突風

More Translations »

blast

1. v.,n. Synonym for BLT, used esp. for large data sends over a network or comm line. Opposite of snarf. Usage: uncommon. The variant `blat' has been reported.
2. vt. [HP/Apollo] Synonymous with nuke (sense 3). Sometimes the message `Unable to kill all processes. Blast them (y/n)?' would appear in the command window upon logout.

blat

n.
1. Syn. {blast}, sense
1.
2. See {thud}.

Jargon File 4.2.0
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blast

O.E. blæst "puff of wind," from PIE *bhle-, var. of base *bhel- "to swell, blow up" (see bole). Meaning "explosion" is from 1635; that of "noisy party, good time" is from 1953, Amer.Eng. slang. Sense of "strong current of air for iron-smelting" (1697) led to blast furnace and transf. sense in full blast "the extreme" (1839). Blast was the usual word for "a smoke of tobacco" c.1600. Blast off first recorded 1951.

Main Entry: ¹blast
Pronunciation: 'blast
Function: noun
1 : an explosion or violent detonation
2 : the violent effectproduced in the vicinity of an explosion that consists of a wave of increased atmospheric pressure followed by a wave of decreased atmospheric pressure —blast verb

Main Entry: ²blast
Function: noun
: BLAST CELL

blast
1. BLT, used especially for large data sends over a network or comm line. Opposite of snarf. Usage: uncommon. The variant "blat" has been reported.
2. [HP/Apollo] Synonymous with nuke. Sometimes the message "Unable to kill all processes. Blast them (y/n)?" would appear in the command window upon logout.

blast

In addition to the idiom beginning with blast, also see full blast.

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