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Definition of blow verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

blow

verb
 
 
/bləʊ/
 
/bləʊ/
In sense 14 blowed
 
/bləʊd/
 
/bləʊd/
is used for the past participle.
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they blow
 
/bləʊ/
 
/bləʊ/
he / she / it blows
 
/bləʊz/
 
/bləʊz/
past simple blew
 
/bluː/
 
/bluː/
past participle blown
 
/bləʊn/
 
/bləʊn/
-ing form blowing
 
/ˈbləʊɪŋ/
 
/ˈbləʊɪŋ/
Idioms Phrasal Verbs
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    from mouth

  1.  
     [intransitive, transitive] to send out air from the mouth
    • + adv./prep. You're not blowing hard enough!
    • The policeman asked me to blow into the breathalyser.
    • blow something + adv./prep. He drew on his cigarette and blew out a stream of smoke.
    Topics Weathera2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • hard
    • strongly
    • gently
    • …
    preposition
    • from
    • off
    phrases
    • blow something off course
    • see which way the wind is blowing
    See full entry
    2.

    of wind

  2.  
     [intransitive, transitive] when the wind or a current of air blows, it is moving; when it blows, the wind is blowing
    • The birds were singing and a warm wind was blowing.
    • + adv./prep. A cold wind blew from the east.
    • It was blowing hard.
    • It was blowing a gale (= there was a strong wind).
    Homophones blew | blueblew   blue
     
    /bluː/
     
    /bluː/
    • blew verb (past tense of blow)
      • The wind blew the door shut.
    • blue adjective
      • Both candidates wore blue jeans.
    • blue noun
      • They chose an intense blue for the walls.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • hard
    • strongly
    • gently
    • …
    preposition
    • from
    • off
    phrases
    • blow something off course
    • see which way the wind is blowing
    See full entry
    3.

    move with wind/breath

  3.  
     [intransitive, transitive] to be moved by the wind, somebody’s breath, etc.; to move something in this way
    • + adv./prep. My hat blew off.
    • + adj. The door blew open.
    • blow somebody/something + adv./prep. I was almost blown over by the wind.
    • She blew the dust off the book.
    • The ship was blown onto the rocks.
    • The bomb blast blew two passers-by across the street.
    • blow something + adj. The wind blew the door shut.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • hard
    • strongly
    • gently
    • …
    preposition
    • from
    • off
    phrases
    • blow something off course
    • see which way the wind is blowing
    See full entry
    4.

    whistle/instrument

  4.  
     [transitive, intransitive] if you blow a whistle, musical instrument, etc. or if a whistle, etc. blows, you produce a sound by blowing into the whistle, etc.
    • the sound of trumpets blowing
    • blow something The referee blew his whistle.
    5.

    your nose

  5.  
     [transitive] blow your nose to clear your nose by blowing strongly through it into a tissue or handkerchief
    • She grabbed a tissue and loudly blew her nose.
    6.

    a kiss

  6. [transitive] blow (somebody) a kiss to kiss your hand and then pretend to blow the kiss towards somebody

    7. shape something

  7. [transitive] blow something to make or shape something by blowing
    • to blow smoke rings
    • to blow bubbles (= for example, by blowing onto a thin layer of water mixed with soap)
    • to blow glass (= to send a current of air into melted glass to shape it)
    8.

    electricity

  8. [intransitive, transitive] blow (something) if a fuse blows or you blow a fuse, the electricity stops flowing suddenly because the fuse (= a thin wire) has melted because the current was too strongTopics Engineeringc2

    9. tyre

  9. [intransitive, transitive] to break open or apart, especially because of pressure from inside; to make a tyre break in this way
    • The car spun out of control when a tyre blew.
    • The truck blew a tyre and lurched off the road.
    10.

    with explosives

  10. [transitive] blow something to break something open with explosives
    • The safe had been blown by the thieves.
    11.

    secret

  11. [transitive] blow something (informal) to make known something that was secret
    • One mistake could blow your cover (= make your real name, job, intentions, etc. known).
    • We’re going to blow his operation wide open.
    12.

    money

  12. [transitive] blow something (on something) (informal) to spend or waste a lot of money on something
    • He inherited over a million dollars and blew it all on drink and gambling.
    Topics Moneyc2

    13. opportunity

  13. [transitive] blow something (informal) to waste an opportunity
    • She blew her chances by arriving late for the interview.
    • You had your chance and you blew it.
    14.

    exclamation

  14. [transitive] In this meaning blowed is used for the past participle. blow somebody/something (British English, informal) used to show that you are annoyed, surprised or do not care about something
    • Blow it! We've missed the bus.
    • Well, blow me down! I never thought I'd see you again.
    • I'm blowed if I'm going to (= I certainly will not) let him treat you like that.
    • Let's take a taxi and blow (= never mind) the expense.
    15.

    leave suddenly

  15. [transitive, intransitive] blow (something) (North American English, informal) to leave a place suddenly
    • Let's blow this joint.
    16. Word Originverb Old English blāwan, of Germanic origin; related to German blähen ‘blow up, swell’, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin flare ‘blow’.
Idioms
blow your/somebody’s brains out
  1. to kill yourself/somebody by shooting yourself/them in the head
    • He put a gun to his head and threatened to blow his brains out.
    • While cleaning his shotgun he had accidentally blown his own brains out.
blow chunks
  1. (North American English, slang) to vomit
blow/clear the cobwebs away
  1. to help somebody have a fresh, lively state of mind again
    • A brisk walk should blow the cobwebs away.
blow a fuse
  1. (informal) to get very angryTopics Feelingsc2
blow the gaff (on somebody/something)
  1. (British English, informal) to tell something secret, especially by mistake
blow hot and cold (about something)
  1. (informal) to change your opinion about something oftenTopics Opinion and argumentc2
blow your mind
  1. (informal) to produce a very strong feeling of pleasure or shock
    • Wait till you hear this. It'll blow your mind.
    • a collection of photographs that will blow your mind
    see also mind-blowing
blow/let off steam
  1. (informal) to get rid of your energy, anger or strong emotions by doing something active or noisy
    • I went for a long walk to let off steam.
    • I like blowing off steam and I like saying things that shock people.
blow somebody/something out of the water (informal)
  1. to destroy somebody/something completely
  2. to show that somebody/something is not good by being very much better than it/them
    • I like my old phone, but this new model blows it out of the water.
blow your own trumpet (especially British English)
(North American English usually blow/toot your own horn)
  1. (informal) to praise your own abilities and achievements synonym boastTopics Successc2
blow smoke (up somebody’s ass)
  1. (North American English, offensive, slang) to try to trick somebody or lie to somebody, particularly by saying something is better than it really is
blow/knock somebody’s socks off
  1. (informal) to surprise or impress somebody very muchTopics Feelingsc2
blow that for a lark
(also taboo sod that for a lark)
  1. (British English, slang) used by somebody who does not want to do something because it involves too much effort
    • Sod that for a lark! I'm not doing any more tonight.
blow somebody/something to bits/pieces
  1. to use bombs or other weapons to destroy somebody/something completely
    • The plane was blown to pieces when the bomb exploded.
blow somebody/something to kingdom come
  1. (informal) to completely destroy somebody/something with an explosion
    • The truck was blown to kingdom come.
blow your top
(North American English also blow your stack)
  1. (informal) to get very angry
blow up in somebody’s face
  1. if a plan, etc. blows up in your face, it goes badly wrong in a way that causes you damage or makes you feel embarrassed
blow the whistle on somebody/something
  1. (informal) to tell somebody in authority about something wrong or illegal that somebody is doing
it’s an ill wind (that blows nobody any good)
  1. (saying) no problem is so bad that it does not bring some advantage to somebody
lift the lid on something | take/blow the lid off something
  1. to tell people unpleasant facts about something
    • Her article lifts the lid on bullying in the workplace.
puff and blow
(also puff and pant informal)
  1. to breathe quickly and loudly through your mouth after physical effort
    • Eventually, puffing and blowing, he arrived at the gate.
    More Like This Alliteration in idiomsAlliteration in idioms
see which way the wind is blowing
  1. to get an idea of what is likely to happen before deciding what to do
See blow in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee blow in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: blow

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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