blow

[ bloh ]

/ bloʊ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR blow ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a sudden, hard stroke with a hand, fist, or weapon: a blow to the head.

a sudden shock, calamity, reversal, etc.: His wife's death was a terrible blow to him.

a sudden attack or drastic action: The invaders struck a blow to the south.

Idioms for blow

at one blow, with a single act: He became wealthy and famous at one blow. Also at a blow.

come to blows, to begin to fight, especially to engage in physical combat: They came to blows over the referee's ruling.

strike a blow, to hit.

strike a blow for, to further or advance the cause of: to strike a blow for civil rights.

without striking a blow, without a battle or contest: The military coup was accomplished without striking a blow.

Origin of blow

1425–75; late Middle English blaw, northern form representing later blowe; akin to Old High German bliuwan, Gothic bliggwan to beat

SYNONYMS FOR blow

1 buffet, thump, thwack, rap, slap, cuff, box, beat, knock.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR blow ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for blow

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.

Words nearby blow

blount's disease, blouse, blouson, blousy, bloviate, blow, blow a fuse, blow away, blow by blow, blow down, blow fly

Definition for blow (2 of 3)

blow ²

[ bloh ]

/ bloʊ /

verb (used without object), blew, blown, blow·ing.

(of the wind or air) to be in motion.

to move along, carried by or as by the wind: Dust seemed to blow through every crack in the house.

to produce or emit a current of air, as with the mouth or a bellows: Blow on your hands to warm them.

(of a horn, trumpet, etc.) to give out sound.

to make a blowing sound; whistle: The siren blew just as we rounded the corner.

(of horses) to breathe hard or quickly; pant.

Informal. to boast; brag: He kept blowing about his medals.

Zoology. (of a whale) to spout.

(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.

to burst from internal pressure: Poorly sealed cans will often blow.

Slang. to leave; depart.

verb (used with object), blew, blown, blow·ing.

to drive by means of a current of air: A sudden breeze blew the smoke into the house.

to spread or make widely known: Growing panic blew the rumor about.

to drive a current of air upon.

to clear or empty by forcing air through: Try blowing your nose.

to shape (glass, smoke, etc.) with a current of air: to blow smoke rings.

to cause to sound, as by a current of air: Blow your horn at the next crossing.

Jazz. to play (a musical instrument of any kind).

to cause to explode (often followed by up, to bits, etc.): A mine blew the ship to bits.

to burst, melt, burn out, or destroy by exploding, overloading, etc. (often followed by out): to blow a tire; blow a fuse.

to destroy; demolish (usually followed by down, over, etc.): The windstorm blew down his house.

Informal.

to spend money on.
to squander; spend quickly: He blew a fortune on racing cars.
to waste; lose: The team blew the lead by making a bad play.

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!

Slang. to damn: Blow the cost!

to put (a horse) out of breath by fatigue.

Slang. to depart from: to blow town.

Slang: Vulgar. to perform fellatio on.

Slang. to smoke (marijuana or other drugs).

noun

a blast of air or wind: to clean machinery with a blow.

Informal. a violent windstorm, gale, hurricane, or the like: one of the worst blows we ever had around here.

an act of producing a blast of air, as in playing a wind instrument: a few discordant blows by the bugler.

Metallurgy.

a blast of air forced through a converter, as in the production of steel or copper.
the stage of the production process during which this blast is used.

Civil Engineering. boil¹(def 12).

Slang. cocaine.

Verb Phrases

blow away, Slang.

to kill, especially by gunfire: The gang threatened to blow away anyone who talked to the police.
to defeat decisively; trounce: She blew her opponent away in three straight sets.
to overwhelm with emotion, astonishment, etc.: Good poetry just blows me away.

blow down, Metallurgy. to suspend working of (a blast furnace) by smelting the existing charge with a diminishing blast.

blow in,

Slang. to arrive at a place, especially unexpectedly: My uncle just blew in from Sacramento.
Metallurgy. to begin operations in (a blast furnace).

blow off,

to allow steam to be released.
Informal. to reduce or release tension, as by loud talking.
Informal. to ignore, evade, or treat as unimportant: I mentioned his insulting remark, and he just blew the whole thing off.
Informal. to not go to or participate in: He blew off his first-period class three times that week.
Informal. to fail to meet (someone) as planned without alerting the person beforehand: I waited 20 minutes before I realized my sister had blown me off.
Informal. to end a romantic or other relationship with: He blew me off after our third date.

blow out,

to become extinguished: The candles blew out at once.
to lose force or cease: The storm has blown itself out.
(of an oil or gas well) to lose oil or gas uncontrollably.
Metallurgy. to blow down and clean (a blast furnace) in order to shut down.

blow over,

to pass away; subside: The storm blew over in five minutes.
to be forgotten: The scandal will eventually blow over.

blow up,

to come into being: A storm suddenly blew up.
to explode: The ship blew up.
to cause to explode: to blow up a bridge.
to exaggerate; enlarge: He blew up his own role in his account of the project.
Informal. to lose one's temper: When he heard she had quit school, he blew up.
to fill with air; inflate: to blow up a tire.
Photography. to make an enlarged reproduction of.
Mathematics. (of a function) to become infinite.

Origin of blow

before 1000; Middle English blowen (v.), Old English blāwan; cognate with Latin flāre to blow

Definition for blow (3 of 3)

blow ³

[ bloh ]

/ bloʊ /

noun

a yield or display of blossoms: the lilac's lavender blows.

a display of anything bright or brilliant: a rich, full blow of color.

state of blossoming; a flowering: a border of tulips in full blow.

verb (used with or without object), blew, blown, blow·ing.

Archaic. to blossom or cause to blossom.

Origin of blow

before 1000; Middle English blowen (v.), Old English blōwan; akin to German blühen to bloom, Latin flōs flower

Example sentences from the Web for blow

This is a blow against freedom of speech, we were told, by the likes of Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson.

Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead |Luke O’Neil |January 8, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
Liberal Democrats like to blow their bugles about how all the big money in politics comes from rich Republicans.

The 100 Rich People Who Run America |Mark McKinnon |January 5, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
On Friday, the story had looked like it might blow over as Buckingham Palace sought to dismiss it as a “civil case.”

Buckingham Palace Disputes Sex Allegations Against Prince ‘Randy Andy’ |Tom Sykes |January 4, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
It took a blow to the head from Clark and the assistance of three deputies to subdue her.

Dr. King Goes to Hollywood: The Flawed History of ‘Selma’ |Gary May |January 2, 2015 |DAILY BEAST

And he was indicted in Israel last week on charges he plotted to blow up sites holy to Islam.

The Strange Case of the Christian Zionist Terrorist |Creede Newton |December 14, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I expected a blow for that, and tried to look as though I did not, being extremely anxious to return it with effect.

Some Persons Unknown |E. W. Hornung
You were willing to blow up this headquarters and everybody, yourself included, in it, to keep us from getting at Merlin.

The Cosmic Computer |Henry Beam Piper
What a blow this was to all her rising hopes, founded on the fact of his having shown anxiety to find them out.

Flora Adair, Vol. 1 (of 2) |A. M. Donelan
Loosing his hold upon Esther, he swiftly shifted his weapon to his other hand and brought down a blow on the boy's back.

A Dear Little Girl's Thanksgiving Holidays |Amy E. Blanchard
The knife was uplifted as the mate felt the grip of the man upon his collar, but the blow was not struck.

Ralph Granger's Fortunes |William Perry Brown

British Dictionary definitions for blow (1 of 3)

blow ¹

/ (bləʊ) /

verb blows, blowing, blew or blown

(of a current of air, the wind, etc) to be or cause to be in motion

(intr) to move or be carried by or as if by wind or air a feather blew in through the window

to expel (air, cigarette smoke, etc) through the mouth or nose

to force or cause (air, dust, etc) to move (into, in, over, etc) by using an instrument or by expelling breath

(intr) to breathe hard; pant

(sometimes foll by up) to inflate with air or the breath

(intr) (of wind, a storm, etc) to make a roaring or whistling sound

to cause (a whistle, siren, etc) to sound by forcing air into it, as a signal, or (of a whistle, etc) to sound thus

(tr) to force air from the lungs through (the nose) to clear out mucus or obstructing matter

(often foll by up, down, in, etc) to explode, break, or disintegrate completely the bridge blew down in the gale

electronics to burn out (a fuse, valve, etc) because of excessive current or (of a fuse, valve, etc) to burn out

blow a fuse slang to lose one's temper

(intr) (of a whale) to spout water or air from the lungs

(tr) to wind (a horse) by making it run excessively

to cause (a wind instrument) to sound by forcing one's breath into the mouthpiece, or (of such an instrument) to sound in this way

(intr) jazz slang to play in a jam session

(intr) (of flies) to lay eggs (in)

to shape (glass, ornaments, etc) by forcing air or gas through the material when molten

(intr) mainly Scot, Australian and NZ to boast or brag

(tr) slang

to spend (money) freely
US to treat or entertain

(tr) slang to use (an opportunity) ineffectively

slang to go suddenly away (from)

(tr) slang to expose or betray (a person or thing meant to be kept secret)

(tr) US slang to inhale (a drug)

(intr) slang to masturbate

past participle blowed informal another word for damn I'll be blowed; blow it!

draughts another word for huff (def. 4)

blow hot and cold to vacillate

blow a kiss or blow kisses to kiss one's hand, then blow across it as if to carry the kiss through the air to another person

blow one's own trumpet to boast of one's own skills or good qualities

blow someone's mind slang

(of a drug, esp LSD) to alter someone's mental state
esp US and Canadian to astound or surprise someone

blow one's top, esp US and Canadian blow one's stack or blow one's lid informal to lose one's temper

noun

the act or an instance of blowing

the sound produced by blowing

a blast of air or wind

metallurgy

a stage in the Bessemer process in which air is blasted upwards through molten pig iron
the quantity of metal treated in a Bessemer converter

mining

a rush of air into a mine
the collapse of a mine roof

jazz slang a jam session

British a slang name for cannabis (def. 2)
US a slang name for cocaine

See also blow away, blow in, blow into, blow off, blow on, blow out, blow over, blow through, blow up

Word Origin for blow

Old English blāwan, related to Old Norse blǣr gust of wind, Old High German blāen, Latin flāre

British Dictionary definitions for blow (2 of 3)

blow ²

/ (bləʊ) /

noun

a powerful or heavy stroke with the fist, a weapon, etc

at one blow or at a blow by or with only one action; all at one time

a sudden setback; unfortunate event to come as a blow

come to blows

to fight
to result in a fight

an attacking action a blow for freedom

Australian and NZ a stroke of the shears in sheep-shearing

Word Origin for blow

C15: probably of Germanic origin; compare Old High German bliuwan to beat

British Dictionary definitions for blow (3 of 3)

blow ³

/ (bləʊ) /

verb blows, blowing, blew or blown

(intr) (of a plant or flower) to blossom or open out

(tr) to produce (flowers)

noun

a mass of blossoms

the state or period of blossoming (esp in the phrase in full blow)

Word Origin for blow

Old English blōwan; related to Old Frisian blōia to bloom, Old High German bluoen, Latin flōs flower; see bloom 1

Idioms and Phrases with blow

blow

In addition to the idioms beginning with blow

blow a fuse
blow away
blow by blow
blow hot and cold
blow in
blow it
blow off
blow off steam
blow one's brains out
blow one's cool
blow one's cover
blow one's mind
blow one's own horn
blow one's top
blow out
blow over
blow sky-high
blow someone to
blow the lid off
blow the whistle on
blow up

also see:

at one stroke (blow)
body blow
come to blows
keep (blow) one's cool
low blow
way the wind blows

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

blow

noun

Idioms for blow

Origin of blow

SYNONYMS FOR blow

synonym study for blow

Words nearby blow

Definition for blow (2 of 3)

verb (used without object), blew, blown, blow·ing.

verb (used with object), blew, blown, blow·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases

Origin of blow

Definition for blow (3 of 3)

noun

verb (used with or without object), blew, blown, blow·ing.

Origin of blow

Example sentences from the Web for blow

British Dictionary definitions for blow (1 of 3)

verb blows, blowing, blew or blown

noun

Word Origin for blow

British Dictionary definitions for blow (2 of 3)

noun

Word Origin for blow

British Dictionary definitions for blow (3 of 3)

verb blows, blowing, blew or blown

noun

Word Origin for blow

Idioms and Phrases with blow

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

blow

noun

Idioms for blow

Origin of blow

SYNONYMS FOR blow

synonym study for blow

Words nearby blow

Definition for blow (2 of 3)

verb (used without object), blew, blown, blow·ing.

verb (used with object), blew, blown, blow·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases

Origin of blow

Definition for blow (3 of 3)

noun

verb (used with or without object), blew, blown, blow·ing.

Origin of blow

Words related to blow

Example sentences from the Web for blow

British Dictionary definitions for blow (1 of 3)

verb blows, blowing, blew or blown

noun

Word Origin for blow

British Dictionary definitions for blow (2 of 3)

noun

Word Origin for blow

British Dictionary definitions for blow (3 of 3)

verb blows, blowing, blew or blown

noun

Word Origin for blow

Idioms and Phrases with blow