blow up

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Used other than figuratively or idiomatically

   Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see blow, up.

   • See if you can blow the bubbles up the staircase.
   • Trying blowing up it at an angle instead of directly across it.
2. 2

   To explode or be destroyed by explosion.

   • Why do cars in movies always blow up when they fall off a cliff?
3. 3

   To cause (something or someone) to explode, or to destroy (something) or maim or kill…

   To cause (something or someone) to explode, or to destroy (something) or maim or kill (someone) by means of an explosion.

   • We had to blow up the bridge before the enemy army arrived.
   • More civilians than soldiers have been blown up by anti-personnel mines.
   • Temporary bridges are now common in Moravia and Slovakia as so many permanent structures were blown up during the last phase of the war.
4. ›+ 18 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      To inflate or fill with air, either by literally blowing or by using a pump.

      • For the school science project, each student will blow up a balloon and then tie it closed.
      • never did it ring more loudly than that night, as I watched her draw back the blanket of moss from the coals, blow up the fire, and cook the evening meal.
   2. 5

      To represent something as being more important or serious than it actually is

      To represent something as being more important or serious than it actually is; to inflate; to exaggerate.

      • The foreign secretary David Miliband's emphasis that this is purely a consular matter is intended to forestall an attempt by Iranian hardliners to blow the incident up.
      • Lena insists the moment wasn't as awkward as it looked, and the coverage blew it up to be something way bigger than it actually was IRL.
      • By scrupulosity, I mean an exaggerated amount of self-condemnation over small issues that you blow up in your mind as terrible.
   3. 6

      To enlarge or zoom in on.

      • Blow up the picture to get a better look at their faces.
   4. 7

      To fail disastrously.

      • So I wish you luck, but don't come crying to me when it blows up in your face.
   5. 8

      To increase without bound as a function argument or parameter approaches a certain value

      To increase without bound as a function argument or parameter approaches a certain value; to tend toward infinity; to approach infinity as a limit.

      • The quantity 1/x blows up as x approaches zero.
   6. 9

      To become popular very quickly.

      • This album is about to blow up; they’re being promoted on MTV.
      • You know you blew up when the women rush your stands And try to touch your hands like some screaming Usher fans […]
      • “It was artsy,” Mr. Skorupski said, likening it to a cross between a steakhouse and MoMA. “This is a place that’s going to blow up.”
   7. 10

      To suddenly get very angry, to lose one's temper.

      • Dad blew up at me when I told him I was pregnant.
   8. 11

      To become much more fat or rotund in a short space of time.

   9. 12

      To inflate, as with pride, self-conceit, etc.

      To inflate, as with pride, self-conceit, etc.; to puff up.

      • to blow someone up with flattery
      • blown up with high conceits engendering pride
   10. 13

       To excite.

       • to blow up a contention
   11. 14

       To scold violently, blow up at.

       • […] did not choose to comply with her wishes. Upon which Mrs. Basset, in the language of the Old Bailey, nabbed the rust; insisted upon some liquor, would not quit the house without it, and began to blow up the hostess and blast the rose.
       • #*: I have blown him up well — nobody can say I wink at what he does.
   12. 15

       To blow the whistle.

   13. 16

       To succumb to oxygen debt and lose the ability to maintain pace in a race.

   14. 17

       To overwhelm through unexpectedly high demand, activity, usage, traffic volume, etc.

       • I blew up another department's API servers – did I screw up or should they have more protections?
   15. 18

       To be overwhelmed by unexpectedly high demand, usage, activity, traffic volume, etc.

       • There were so many incoming enemy planes that our monitoring and notification system blew up before the base was even able to respond.
   16. 19

       To cause a malodorous smell by flatulation, defecation, etc.

       • Don't go in there...I really blew it up.
   17. 20

       To begin

       To begin; to gather; to form.

       • A storm is blowing up in the north.
   18. 21

       To use an intoxicating drug

       To use an intoxicating drug; to get high.

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