blow

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   To produce an air current.

   • Lear. Blow windes, & crack your cheeks; Rage, blow / You Cataracts, and Hyrricano's ſpout,
   • Tend to th' Maſters whiſtle: Blow till thou burſt thy winde, if roome enough.
   • Hark how it rains and blows!
2. 2

   To propel by an air current (or, if under water, a water current), usually with the mouth.

   • Blow the dust off that book and open it up.
   • To-night the winds begin to rise ⁠And roar from yonder dropping day: ⁠The last red leaf is whirl’d away, The rooks are blown about the skies; […]
   • In Koksan County, strong winds blew the roofs off homes, while torrential rains poked holes in or collapsed the walls of houses.
3. 3

   To be propelled by an air current.

   • The leaves blow through the streets in the fall.
   • What stormy weather —the roofs are blowing off!
4. ›+ 50 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      To direct or move, usually of a person to a particular location.

      • "This is an unexpected pleasure!" exclaimed he. "What good fortune blows Lady Marchmont hither?"
   2. 5

      To create or shape by blowing.

      • to blow bubbles
      • to blow glass
      • Joe puffed on his pipe and blew a couple of smoke rings.
   3. 6

      To force a current of air upon with the mouth, or by other means.

      • to blow the fire
   4. 7

      To clear of contents by forcing air through.

      • to blow an egg
      • to blow one’s nose
      • The submarine blew its main ballast tanks.
   5. 8

      To cause to make sound by blowing (as a musical instrument).

      • Blow your horn! That car is about to hit us!
   6. 9

      To make a sound as a result of being blown.

      • In the harbor, the ships’ horns blew.
      • There let the pealing organ blow,
   7. 10

      To exhale visibly through the spout the seawater which it has taken in while feeding.

      • There’s nothing more thrilling to the whale watcher than to see a whale surface and blow.
      • There she blows! (i.e. “I see a whale spouting!”)
      • Soon after he [a porpoise] appeared again, blowing very hard, but the next moment he turned over; Rasmus was not slow in putting the boat-hook in him and hauling him into the boat with my assistance.
   8. 11

      To burst or explode

      To burst or explode; to occur suddenly

      • Get away from that burning gas tank! It’s about to blow!
      • Hitler is very, very important, and something's going to blow in Europe.
   9. 12

      To cause to explode, shatter, or be utterly destroyed.

      • The demolition squad neatly blew the old hotel up.
      • The aerosol can was blown to bits.
   10. 13

       To cause the sudden destruction of.

       • He blew the tires and the engine.
   11. 14

       To blow from a gun (method of executing a person).

   12. 15

       To suddenly fail or give way destructively.

       • He tried to sprint, but his ligaments blew and he was barely able to walk to the finish line.
       • A common problem for double glazed windows (or doors) is mist or condensation between the panes of glass. This is known as a blown window or failed double glazing. But what does it cost to repair?
   13. 16

       To melt away because of overcurrent, creating a gap in a wire, thus stopping a circuit…

       To melt away because of overcurrent, creating a gap in a wire, thus stopping a circuit from operating.

   14. 17

       To recklessly squander.

       • I managed to blow $1000 at blackjack in under an hour.
       • I blew $35 thou on a car.
       • We blew an opportunity to get benign corporate sponsorship.
   15. 18

       To fail at

       To fail at; to mess up; to make a mistake in.

       • I blew it and forgot to start the spaghetti, so I had plenty of sauce and no pasta.
       • Good luck, and don’t blow it!
   16. 19

       To be very undesirable.

       • This blows!
   17. 20

       To perform oral sex on (someone)

       To perform oral sex on (someone); to fellate.

       • Who did you have to blow to get those backstage passes?
       • The mandem all used to go round there and get head off her, the sister blowing the man line by line while her brother shotted downstairs in the stairwell.
   18. 21

       To leave, especially suddenly or in a hurry.

       • Let’s blow this joint.
       • It's hard on a fella, when he don't know his way around If I don't find me a honey to help me spend my money I'm gonna have to blow this town.
       • I'm a wanted man and I'm blowing town Don't waste your time trying to hunt me down
   19. 22

       To leave the Church of Scientology in an unauthorized manner.

   20. 23

       To make flyblown

       To make flyblown; to defile or spoil, especially with fly eggs.

       • Shall they hoyſt me vp, And ſhew me to the ſhowting Varlotarie Of cenſuring Rome? Rather a ditch in Egypt, Be gentle graue vnto me, rather on Nylus mudde Lay me ſtarke-nak'd, and let the water-Flies Blow me into abhorring;
       • Fer. I am, in my condition A Prince (Miranda) I do thinke a King (I would not ſo) and would no more endure This wodden ſlauerie, then to ſuffer The fleſh-flie blow my mouth: heare my ſoule ſpeake.
       • That decision was given an added kick by fury when he found that Podson had left the safe door open, and flies had blown the meat.
   21. 24

       (of a fly) To lay eggs

       (of a fly) To lay eggs; to breed (in flesh or meat).

       • […]and often after they drop off the punctured skins are the seats of maggots, etc., owing to flies blowing on these injuries.
   22. 25

       To spread by report

       To spread by report; to publish; to disclose.

       • Through the court his courtesy was blown.
   23. 26

       To inflate, as with pride

       To inflate, as with pride; to puff up.

       • O peace, now he's deepely in: looke how imagination blowes him.
   24. 27

       To breathe hard or quick

       To breathe hard or quick; to pant; to puff.

       • Rob. Miſtris Ford, Miſtris Ford: heere's Miſtris Page at the doore, ſsweating, and blowing, and looking wildely, and would needs ſpeake with you preſently.
   25. 28

       To put out of breath

       To put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue.

   26. 29

       To talk loudly

       To talk loudly; boast; brag.

       • He didn't just set around and try to out sweettalk^([sic]) somebody; he got out and out-fit somebody. He wouldn't be blowing when he told his boys how he fit for the woman he got.
       • At the breaking edge with him and completely fed up with his everlasting bragging and blowing about his personal exploits, and desirous of putting him somewhere, anywhere, so they wouldn't be continuously annoyed by him, […]
   27. 30

       To slander, insult, critique or discredit (someone)

       To slander, insult, critique or discredit (someone); to reprimand or scold (someone).

   28. 31

       To expose, or inform on.

       • 'As for that,' says Will, 'I could tell it well enough, if I had it, but I must not be seen anywhere among my old acquaintances, for I am blown, and they will all betray me.'
   29. 32

       To sing.

       • That girl has a wonderful voice; just listen to her blow!
   30. 33

       To flatulate or defecate.

       • Uh, oh! I gotta blow!
   31. 34

       A strong wind.

       • We’re having a bit of a blow this afternoon.
       • Now they were faced with the problem of a northerly blow, which could soon send a heavy swell clean into the bay.
   32. 35

       A chance to catch one's breath.

       • The players were able to get a blow during the last timeout.
   33. 36

       Powder cocaine.

       • Hi there, you're a pretty cute chick, want to snort some blow?
       • Hey man, you wanna cop some blow? / Sure, what you got, dust, flakes or rocks?
       • Jesus Christ, George, I don't see you for two years and you show up on my doorstep with 110 pounds of blow.
   34. 37

       Cannabis.

   35. 38

       Heroin.

   36. 39

       A blowjob

       A blowjob; fellatio.

       • His girlfriend gave him a blow.
   37. 40

       An instance of using high-pressure air to empty water from the ballast tanks of a…

       An instance of using high-pressure air to empty water from the ballast tanks of a submarine, increasing the submarine's buoyancy and causing it to surface.

   38. 41

       Used to express displeasure or frustration.

       • Blow the expense!
       • [H]e suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said 'Bother!' and 'Oh blow!' and also 'Hang spring-cleaning!' and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat.
   39. 42

       Blue.

   40. 43

       An instance of the act of striking or hitting.

       • A fabricator is used to direct a sharp blow to the surface of the stone.
       • During an exchange to end round 13, Duran landed a blow to the midsection.
   41. 44

       A sudden or forcible act or effort

       A sudden or forcible act or effort; an assault.

   42. 45

       A damaging occurrence.

       • A further blow to the group came in 1917 when Thomson died while canoeing in Algonquin Park.
       • a most poor man, made tame to fortune's blows
       • Norwich returned to second in the Championship with victory over Nottingham Forest, whose promotion hopes were dealt another blow.
   43. 46

       A cut made to a sheep's fleece by a shearer using hand-shears.

       • Click goes his shears; click, click, click. / Wide are the blows, and his hand is moving quick, / The ringer looks round, for he lost it by a blow, / And he curses that old shearer with the bare belled ewe.
   44. 47

       An outcrop of quartz from surrounding rock, thought to indicate mineral deposits below.

       • "Blows" of quartz, crop out above the layers of slate, granite, and sandstone formation.
   45. 48

       Synonym of button (“the punchy or suspenseful line of dialogue that concludes a scene”).

       • The blow is important because it transitions the reader and eventually the audience from one scene to another.
   46. 49

       To blossom

       To blossom; to cause to bloom or blossom.

       • You ſeeme to me as Diane in her Orbe, / As chaſte as is the budde ere it be blowne:
       • How blows the citron grove.
       • Boys are at best but pretty buds unblown, / Whose scent and hues are rather guessed than known;
   47. 50

       A state of flowering

       A state of flowering; a bloom.

       • roses in full blow
       • [F]lowers that in perennial blow / Round the moist marge of Persian fountains cling; […]
   48. 51

       A display or mass of flowers

       A display or mass of flowers; a yield.

       • [H]e believed he could shew me such a blow of tulips as was not to be matched in the whole country.
       • Passing the apple-tree blows of white and pink in the orchards; / Carrying a corpse to where it shall rest in the grave, / Night and day journeys a coffin.
   49. 52

       A display of anything bright or brilliant.

   50. 53

       A surname.

The neighborhood

• neighborinsufflate
• neighborablow
• neighborelder-blow