verb, blew, blown, blow⋅ing, noun | 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. | to 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 fol. 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. | Slang. to leave; depart. |
| 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. | to 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 fol. 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 fol. by out): to blow a tire; blow a fuse. |
| 21. | to destroy; demolish (usually fol. by down, over, etc.): The windstorm blew down his house. |
| 22. | Informal.
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| 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. | Slang. to smoke (marijuana or other drugs). |
| 29. | 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.
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| 33. | Civil Engineering. boil 1 (def. 12). |
| 34. | Slang. cocaine. |
| 35. | blow away, Slang.
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| 36. | blow down, Metallurgy. to suspend working of (a blast furnace) by smelting the existing charge with a diminishing blast. |
| 37. | blow in,
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| 38. | blow out,
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| 39. | blow over,
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| 40. | blow up,
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| 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,
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| 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. | blow one's lines, Theater. to forget or make an error in a speaking part or stage directions. |
| 46. | blow one's mind. mind (def. 35). |
| 47. | blow one's stack. stack (def. 23). |
| 48. | blow one's top. top 1 (def. 42). |

blow 1 (blō) v. blew (blōō), blown (blōn), blow·ing, blows v. intr.
blow away Slang
blow off
blow up
Idiom(s): blow a fuse/gasket Slang To explode with anger. Idiom(s): blow hot and coldTo change one's opinion often on a matter; vacillate. Idiom(s): blow off steamTo give vent to pent-up emotion. Idiom(s): blow (one's) cool Slang To lose one's composure. Idiom(s): blow (one's) mind Slang To affect with intense emotion, such as amazement, excitement, or shock. Idiom(s): blow (one's) top/stack Informal To lose one's temper. Idiom(s): blow out of proportionTo make more of than is reasonable; exaggerate. Idiom(s): blow smoke
[Middle English blowen, from Old English blāwan; see bhlē- in Indo-European roots.] |
blow
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blow (so) out
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blow (sth)
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blow out jargon
(Probably from mining and tunnelling jargon) Of software, to fail spectacularly; almost as serious as crash and burn.
See blow past, blow up, die horribly.
[The Jargon File]
(1994-11-29)
blow out
Extinguish, especially a flame. For example, The wind blew out the candles very quickly. [1300s]
Lose force or cease entirely, as in The storm will soon blow itself out and move out to sea. Also see blow over.
Burst or rupture suddenly, as in This tire is about to blow out. This usage alludes to the escape of air under pressure. [Early 1900s]
Also, blow out of the water. Defeat decisively, as in With a great new product and excellent publicity, we could blow the competition out of the water. This term originally was used in mid-19th-century naval warfare, where it meant to blast or shoot another vessel to pieces. It later was transferred to athletic and other kinds of defeat. [Slang; mid-1900s]