/ bləʊ; NAmE bloʊ/ verb , noun , exclamation
■ verb
( blew / bluː; NAmE / blown / bləʊn; NAmE bloʊn/
HELP NOTE : In sense 13 blowed is used for the past participle.
)
FROM MOUTH
1.
[+ adv. / prep. ] to send out air from the mouth :
[ v ]
You're not blowing hard enough!
The policeman asked me to blow into the breathalyser.
[ vn ]
He drew on his cigarette and blew out a stream of smoke.
OF WIND
2.
when the wind or a current of air blows , it is moving; when it blows , the wind is blowing :
[ v , often + adv. / prep. ]
A cold wind blew from the east.
It was blowing hard.
[ vn ]
It was blowing a gale (= there was a strong wind) .
MOVE WITH WIND / BREATH
3.
[+ adv. / prep. ] to be moved by the wind, sb's breath, etc.; to move sth in this way :
[ v ]
My hat blew off.
[ v - adj ]
The door blew open.
[ vn ]
I was almost blown over by the wind.
She blew the dust off the book.
The ship was blown onto the rocks.
[also vn - adj ]
WHISTLE / INSTRUMENT
4.
if you blow a whistle, musical instrument, etc. or if a whistle, etc. blows , you produce a sound by blowing into the whistle, etc. :
[ vn ]
The referee blew his whistle.
[ v ]
the sound of trumpets blowing
YOUR NOSE
5.
[ vn ] blow your nose to clear your nose by blowing strongly through it into a handkerchief
A KISS
6.
[ vn , vnn ] blow (sb) a kiss to kiss your hand and then pretend to blow the kiss towards sb
SHAPE STH
7.
[ vn ] to make or shape sth 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)
ELECTRICITY
8.
[ v , vn ] 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 strong
WITH EXPLOSIVES
9.
[ vn ] to break sth open with explosives :
The safe had been blown by the thieves.
SECRET
10.
[ vn ] ( informal ) to make known sth that was secret :
One mistake could blow your cover (= make your real name, job, intentions, etc. known) .
MONEY
11.
[ vn ] blow sth (on sth) ( informal ) to spend or waste a lot of money on sth :
He inherited over a million dollars and blew it all on drink and gambling.
OPPORTUNITY
12.
[ vn ] ( informal ) to waste an opportunity :
She blew her chances by arriving late for the interview.
You had your chance and you blew it .
EXCLAMATION
13.
[ vn ] ( BrE , informal ) used to show that you are annoyed, surprised or do not care about sth :
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.
LEAVE SUDDENLY
14.
( NAmE , slang ) to leave a place suddenly :
[ vn ]
Let's blow this joint.
[also v ]
•
IDIOMS
- blow your / sb's brains out
- blow chunks
- blow a fuse
- blow the gaff (on sb/sth)
- blow hot and cold (about sth)
- blow sb/sth out of the water
- blow your mind
- blow your own trumpet
- blow your top
- blow up in sb's face
- blow the whistle on sb/sth
—see also whistle-blower
•
IDIOMS
see cobweb , ill adjective , lark noun , lid , puff verb , sock noun , way noun
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- blow sb away
- blow in | blow into sth
- blow sb off
- blow out
- blow itself out
- blow sb out
- blow sth out
- blow over
- blow up
- blow sth up
- blow up (at sb)
■ noun
1.
a hard hit with the hand, a weapon, etc. :
She received a severe blow on the head.
He was knocked out by a single blow to the head.
The two men were exchanging blows .
He landed a blow on Hill's nose.
2.
blow (to sb/sth) a sudden event which has damaging effects on sb/sth, causing sadness or disappointment :
Losing his job came as a terrible blow to him.
It was a shattering blow to her pride.
—see also body blow
3.
the action of blowing :
Give your nose a good blow (= clear it completely) .
•
IDIOMS
- a blow-by-blow account, description, etc. (of sth)
- come to blows (over sth)
- soften / cushion the blow
—more at deal verb , strike verb
■ exclamation
( old-fashioned , BrE ) used to show that you are annoyed about sth :
Blow! I completely forgot it.
••
WORD ORIGIN
verb Old English blāwan , of Germanic origin; related to German blähen blow up, swell, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin flare blow.
noun late Middle English : of unknown origin.