1blow 
/ˈbloʊ/ verb
blew /ˈbloʊ/ verb /ˈblu:/; blown /ˈbloʊn/; blow·ing 1 a [no obj] of air, wind, etc. : to move with speed or force
▪ The wind was blowing earlier but it's not blowing now. [=there was wind earlier but there isn't any wind now] ▪ The wind is blowing hard. = It's blowing hard outside. ▪ The storm is blowing hard/fiercely. = It's blowing up a storm. ▪ A cool breeze blew through the open window. ▪ The wind was blowing from the north.
b [+ obj] : to cause (air or something carried by air) to move
▪ The fan blew the air. ▪ The fan blew the smoke out the window.
c : to be moved or affected in a specified way by the wind [no obj] ▪ The door blew open/shut in the wind. ▪ The papers blew all over the place! ▪ The sign blew down/over. ▪ The leaves were blowing around in the wind. ▪ His hat blew off/away in the wind. [+ obj] ▪ The breeze blew my wet hair dry. ▪ The wind blew the door open/shut. ▪ The wind blew the sign down/over. ▪ The wind blew the ship off course. ▪ A gust of wind blew the papers all over the room. ▪ The wind blew his hat off/away. 2 a : to create a current of moving air by breathing [no obj] ▪ She blew on her fingers to warm them. ▪ He was blowing on his soup to cool it off. [+ obj] ▪ She blew air into the balloon.
b [+ obj] : to produce or shape (something, such as a bubble) by blowing air
▪ The clown was blowing bubbles for the children. ▪ blow beautiful shapes out of glass = blow glass into beautiful shapes — see also glassblowing 3 a [no obj] of a musical instrument, whistle, etc. : to produce a loud sound
▪ The trumpet/whistle blew loudly. ▪ The siren blew. [=sounded]
b [+ obj] : to play or produce a sound with (a musical instrument, whistle, etc.)
▪ blow a trumpet ▪ blow a whistle ▪ blow a siren 4 : to damage or destroy (something) with an explosion [+ obj] ▪ The terrorists rigged a bomb to blow [=(more commonly) blow up] the bridge. ▪ The explosion blew his leg off. = The explosion blew off his leg. ▪ The explosion blew out the window. ▪ The burglar blew the safe open with dynamite. ▪ The bomb blew the bridge to bits/smithereens. [=the bomb completely destroyed the bridge] [no obj] ▪ They ran away when they realized that the bridge was about to blow. [=(more commonly) blow up, explode] ▪ The window blew out in the explosion. ▪ The safe blew open when the burglar dynamited it. — sometimes used figuratively ▪ The election has been blown wide open by the revelation that one of the candidates was lying. ▪ The prosecution's case was blown apart by new evidence. — see also blow up (below) 5 : to cause (a tire) to suddenly lose air and become flat [+ obj] ▪ He drove over a nail and blew a tire. — often + out ▪ The car blew out a tire. [no obj] ▪ The car crashed because one of its tires had blown. — often + out ▪ One of the car's tires blew out. — see also blowout 1 6 of an electric fuse : to melt and stop the flow of electricity when an electric current is too strong [no obj] ▪ The light went off because a fuse had blown. [+ obj] ▪ What blew the fuse? — see also blow a fuse at 1fuse 7 [+ obj] : to clear (your nose) by forcing air through it quickly
▪ He blew his nose into his handkerchief. 8 [+ obj] informal : to spend or waste (a large amount of money) in a foolish way
▪ He blew his whole paycheck on a horse that finished last. 9 [+ obj] informal a : to make a mistake in doing or handling (something)
▪ The actress blew her lines. [=she said her lines incorrectly]
b : to lose or miss (an opportunity) by acting in a stupid or clumsy way
▪ He blew an opportunity to make a lot of money in the stock market. ▪ I blew my chance for a big promotion. ▪ They should have won the game but they blew it. ▪ “I have a job interview tomorrow.” “Well, don't blow it.” ▪ I was late for the job interview and that blew it for me. [=that caused me not to get the job] 10 [+ obj] US, informal : to leave (a place) very quickly
▪ Let's blow this joint. ▪ He packed his bags and blew town [=left town] without even saying goodbye. 11 always followed by an adverb or preposition [+ obj] US, informal : to throw (a ball) with great force and speed
▪ The pitcher blew a fastball by/past the batter. 12 Brit, informal — used to express surprise, annoyance, etc. ▪ He washed the dishes? Well blow me down! ▪ Blow it! I forgot to buy milk.
▪ The wind was blowing earlier but it's not blowing now. [=there was wind earlier but there isn't any wind now] ▪ The wind is blowing hard. = It's blowing hard outside. ▪ The storm is blowing hard/fiercely. = It's blowing up a storm. ▪ A cool breeze blew through the open window. ▪ The wind was blowing from the north.
b [+ obj] : to cause (air or something carried by air) to move
▪ The fan blew the air. ▪ The fan blew the smoke out the window.
c : to be moved or affected in a specified way by the wind [no obj] ▪ The door blew open/shut in the wind. ▪ The papers blew all over the place! ▪ The sign blew down/over. ▪ The leaves were blowing around in the wind. ▪ His hat blew off/away in the wind. [+ obj] ▪ The breeze blew my wet hair dry. ▪ The wind blew the door open/shut. ▪ The wind blew the sign down/over. ▪ The wind blew the ship off course. ▪ A gust of wind blew the papers all over the room. ▪ The wind blew his hat off/away.
b [+ obj] : to produce or shape (something, such as a bubble) by blowing air
▪ The clown was blowing bubbles for the children. ▪ blow beautiful shapes out of glass = blow glass into beautiful shapes — see also glassblowing
▪ The trumpet/whistle blew loudly. ▪ The siren blew. [=sounded]
b [+ obj] : to play or produce a sound with (a musical instrument, whistle, etc.)
▪ blow a trumpet ▪ blow a whistle ▪ blow a siren
▪ He blew his nose into his handkerchief.
▪ He blew his whole paycheck on a horse that finished last.
▪ The actress blew her lines. [=she said her lines incorrectly]
b : to lose or miss (an opportunity) by acting in a stupid or clumsy way
▪ He blew an opportunity to make a lot of money in the stock market. ▪ I blew my chance for a big promotion. ▪ They should have won the game but they blew it. ▪ “I have a job interview tomorrow.” “Well, don't blow it.” ▪ I was late for the job interview and that blew it for me. [=that caused me not to get the job]
▪ Let's blow this joint. ▪ He packed his bags and blew town [=left town] without even saying goodbye.
▪ The pitcher blew a fastball by/past the batter.
blow a gasket — see gasket
blow away [phrasal verb]
blow (someone) away or blow away (someone) informal 1 : to kill (someone) by shooting
▪ a gangster who got blown away by a hit man 2 : to impress (someone) in a very strong and favorable way
▪ I was really blown away by her latest movie. 3 US : to defeat (someone) very badly
▪ They blew their rivals away in the first game 34–7.
▪ a gangster who got blown away by a hit man
▪ I was really blown away by her latest movie.
▪ They blew their rivals away in the first game 34–7.
blow hot and cold
: to change repeatedly from liking or favoring something to not liking or favoring it
▪ Local residents have been blowing hot and cold on the question of whether to build a new school.
▪ Local residents have been blowing hot and cold on the question of whether to build a new school.
blow in
[phrasal verb] informal : to arrive in a sudden or unexpected way
▪ He just blew in, asking for a place to stay.
▪ He just blew in, asking for a place to stay.
blow into [phrasal verb]
blow into (a place) informal : to arrive at (a place) in a sudden or unexpected way
▪ He just blew into town and needs a place to stay.
▪ He just blew into town and needs a place to stay.
blown out of proportion — see proportion
blow off
[phrasal verb] US, informal 1 blow (someone) off or blow off (someone) a : to refuse to notice or deal with (someone) : to ignore (someone)
▪ I tried to say hello to him, but he just blew me off.
b : to fail to meet (someone) at an expected time
▪ He was supposed to meet me for lunch but he blew me off. 2 blow (something) off or blow off (something) : to fail to attend or show up for (something)
▪ He blew off an official dinner.
▪ I tried to say hello to him, but he just blew me off.
b : to fail to meet (someone) at an expected time
▪ He was supposed to meet me for lunch but he blew me off.
▪ He blew off an official dinner.
blow off (some) steam — see 1steam
blow out [phrasal verb] 1 blow out or blow (something) out or blow out (something) : to go out or to cause (something, such as a candle) to go out by blowing
▪ There was a sudden gust of wind and the candles blew out. ▪ She blew out the candles on her birthday cake. ▪ The wind blew out the candle. 2 of a storm : to come to an end : stop
▪ The storm eventually blew out. [=blew over] = The storm eventually blew itself out. [=the storm eventually ended] — see also blowout
▪ There was a sudden gust of wind and the candles blew out. ▪ She blew out the candles on her birthday cake. ▪ The wind blew out the candle.
▪ The storm eventually blew out. [=blew over] = The storm eventually blew itself out. [=the storm eventually ended] — see also blowout
blow over
[phrasal verb] of a storm : to come to an end : stop
▪ The storm eventually blew over. [=blew itself out, ended] — often used figuratively ▪ The scandal blew over and was forgotten in a few months.
▪ The storm eventually blew over. [=blew itself out, ended] — often used figuratively ▪ The scandal blew over and was forgotten in a few months.
blow smoke — see 1smoke
blow (someone) a kiss — see 2kiss
blow someone's brains out — see 1brain
blow someone's cover — see 2cover
blow someone's mind — see 1mind
blow the gaff — see gaff
blow the whistle — see 1whistle
blow up [phrasal verb] 1 blow (something) up or blow up (something) : to fill (something) with air or gas : inflate
▪ blow up a balloon ▪ blow up a tire 2 blow up or blow (something) up or blow up (something) a : to explode or to cause (something, such as a bomb) to explode
▪ The bomb blew up. ▪ blow up a bomb
b : to be destroyed or to destroy (something) by an explosion
▪ The bridge blew up (in the explosion). ▪ The soldiers blew up the bridge with a bomb. — sometimes used figuratively ▪ The whole situation has blown up in his face [=has gone terribly wrong] and he may well be fired! 3 : to become very angry
▪ The boss blew up when the shipment arrived late. 4 blow (something) up or blow up (something) : to make (a photograph) larger
▪ We had the photograph blown up for framing. : to make (something) seem larger or more important than it really is : exaggerate ▪ It was just a trivial mistake that got blown up into something much worse. [=got greatly exaggerated] 5 of the wind, a storm, etc. : to begin blowing
▪ A wind blew up but quickly subsided. ▪ A storm blew up suddenly. — see also blowup
▪ blow up a balloon ▪ blow up a tire
▪ The bomb blew up. ▪ blow up a bomb
b : to be destroyed or to destroy (something) by an explosion
▪ The bridge blew up (in the explosion). ▪ The soldiers blew up the bridge with a bomb. — sometimes used figuratively ▪ The whole situation has blown up in his face [=has gone terribly wrong] and he may well be fired!
▪ The boss blew up when the shipment arrived late.
▪ We had the photograph blown up for framing. : to make (something) seem larger or more important than it really is : exaggerate ▪ It was just a trivial mistake that got blown up into something much worse. [=got greatly exaggerated]
▪ A wind blew up but quickly subsided. ▪ A storm blew up suddenly. — see also blowup
blow your cool — see 3cool
blow your own horn — see 1horn
blow your own trumpet — see 1trumpet
blow your top or US blow your stack
informal : to become very angry
▪ Mom really blew her top when she found out I'd wrecked the car.
▪ Mom really blew her top when she found out I'd wrecked the car.
