BLOW


Meaning of BLOW in English

I. ˈblō verb

( blew ˈblü ; or dialect blowed ˈblōd ; blown ˈblōn ; or dialect blowed ; blowing ; blows )

Etymology: Middle English blowen, from Old English blāwan; akin to Old High German blāen to blow, inflate, Latin flare to blow, follis bellows, Greek phallos penis, Sanskrit bhāṇḍa pot; basic meaning: to swell

intransitive verb

1. of air or air currents : to move with speed or force

the wind blew in gusts

— often used with it as an impersonal nominative

let it blow , we're snug and warm

2.

a. : to produce a current of air (as by expelling it forcibly from the lungs through the mouth)

never blow on your soup to cool it

b. : to drive air or other gas

the fan is blowing on my neck

c. : to escape (as of natural gas or oil) from a region of high pressure

3.

a. : to make a sound by or as if by blowing : hiss , whistle , toot

the train blew for the crossing

b. : to play a wind instrument ; also slang : to play jazz on any instrument

c. of a wind instrument : sound

there let the pealing organ blow — John Milton

d. of an animal : snort

the horse stood stamping and blowing restlessly in the cold

4.

a. : to talk emptily : boast

he kept us awake half the night blowing about his family

b. : storm , bluster , fulminate ; also : to be or become enraged : blow up

when he heard what they had done he really blew

5.

a. : to breathe hard or rapidly : pant , puff , gasp

my, those stairs make me blow

b. of whales and other cetaceans : to eject moisture-laden air from the lungs through the blowhole

6. obsolete , of flies : to lay eggs

7.

a. : to move or be carried by or as if by wind

the echo of a lost world blows through her sparkling prose — Beatrice Washburn

the soil is blowing badly all along the hedge

b. : to flutter, billow, or flap in a current of air

curtains blowing out the open window

: be carried by the wind

the kite blew away

8. : to be damaged in a manner involving swelling or expansion:

a. : to become destroyed by explosion : explode

if this old blunderbuss doesn't blow we may have duck for dinner

b. of cement : to swell and crack due to imperfect preparation and curing

c. of foods : to become swollen by the products of abnormal fermentation

certain bacteria cause cheeses to blow

d. of an electrical fuse : to melt when overloaded

an overloaded outlet often causes fuses to blow

e. of a pneumatic tire : to release its air through a spontaneous rupture : blow out

f. of pottery : to blow apart from too rapid heating in the kiln

g. of paper : to blister especially from air entrapped between the wet sheet and the felt or from too sudden drying on the cylinder ; also of paperboard : to blister from air entrapped between two piles

9. slang : to move off : clear out : depart

blow now, nobody wants the likes of you around here

10. of a horse or mule : to pause for breath

let the mare blow at the end of the furrow

transitive verb

1.

a. : to drive (gas or vapor) from a region of greater to a region of lower pressure

use the bellows to blow air on the forge

specifically : to eject (breathed air) from the lungs during normal or forced exhalation

don't blow your breath in my face

b. : to set (gas or vapor) in motion (as by the action of a fan)

the fan blew the hot air about our heads

c. : to force a current of gas or vapor upon, through, or into, usually to produce a particular effect (as of warming, cooling, drying)

come on out, let the breeze blow your hair dry

blow the fire into a good blaze

oil being blown with air and oxygen

d.

(1) : to force air through (molten metal) to refine (as in a Bessemer or other converter)

(2) : to force air into (a blast furnace) to support the combustion of coke

2.

a. : to play on (a wind instrument) ; also slang : to play jazz on (any instrument)

b. : to sound a signal for (as an assault or retreat) on a wind instrument

c. : to sound (as a note or blast) on or with a wind instrument

d. of a wind instrument : sound

e. : to direct (hunting dogs) with the sound of a horn

f. : to play (jazz) on an instrument

3.

a. : to spread by report : noise abroad : make public : disclose

through the court his courtesy was blown — John Dryden

— now usually used with about or abroad

they have blown all sorts of silly rumors about

b. obsolete : to give utterance to : utter — used especially of emotional expression

c. archaic : to inform against (a person) or inform a person of (as an act or secret) : betray — formerly used with up; now only in the phrase blow the gaff

d. : darn , damn , blast

blow it, my watch has stopped

often : pay no attention to : put aside from consideration : ignore , disregard

blow the expense

risk be blowed

4.

a. : to drive, activate, or act upon with a current of gas or vapor

the storm blew the boat aground

b. : to clear of contents by the passage of such a current:

(1) : to free (the nose) of mucus and debris by forcible exhalation

(2) : to empty (an egg) by forcing out the contents through one small hole with a current of air introduced through another small hole

(3) : to expel (the contents of a wood-pulp digester) by relief of pressure at the completion of a cook

5.

a. : to distend with or as if with gas : blow up : bloat

his face blown out like a bladder

small boys blowing their balloons

b. obsolete : to puff up with pride

look how imagination blows him — Shakespeare

c. : to expand and shape (glass) by the action of injected air

d. : to produce or shape (as a glass vessel) by the action of blown or injected air

blowing iridescent soap bubbles

the wind blew a hollow on the edge of the dune

6. of insects : to deposit eggs or larvae on or in — now used only of blowflies and flesh flies

wounds blown by flies often healed faster than supposedly clean wounds

7. : to shatter, burst, or destroy by explosion — used commonly with out, in, or up

be ready to charge when we blow in the gate

or with phrases expressing degree of damage

they were blown to bits

8.

a. : to put out of breath : cause to pant with fatigue

take it easy on the hills or you'll blow your horse

b. : to let (as a horse) pause to catch the breath — often used with out

c. of a saddle horse : to keep the chest of expanded by holding the breath while being girthed — used with out

the stud frequently blew himself out

9.

a. : to spend (money) recklessly or extravagantly : squander

he blew his pay at the gambling tables

b. : to treat with unusual or lavish expenditure — used with to

come on, I'll blow you to a steak

I may live on beans for a month, but I'm going to blow myself to a really good handbag now

10. : to cause (a fuse) to blow

11. : to rupture (as a seal or cover) by too much pressure

the engine blew a head gasket

12. slang : to lose control of (a winning position) : toss away : misplay , muff

two chances to win and he blew them both

blow an easy putt

13. : to leave especially hurriedly

he blew town after running up huge bills

- blow a fuse

- blow great guns

- blow hot and cold

- blow into

- blow one's horn

- blow one's lines

- blow one's top

- blow the lid

- blow the whistle

- blow upon

II. noun

( -s )

1. : a blowing of wind especially when strong or violent : windstorm , gale

recurrent blows sweep the coastal islands bare

2. : the act of certain insects of depositing eggs or larvae ; sometimes : a larva so deposited (as in a wound) — used chiefly of blowflies and flesh flies

3.

a. : boasting, brag

b. slang : boaster

4.

a. : an act or instance of forcing air through or from some instrument

give the fire a blow with the bellows

a single loud blow of his horn

b. : forcible ejection of air from the body (as in freeing the nose of mucus and debris)

Junior, give your nose a good blow before we start

5. : the spouting of a whale

6.

a. : a short rest : breathing spell , breather

b. : a brief stop (of a horse) for rest

7.

a. : parison

b. : the vacuity in the stem of certain blown-glass vessels

8. : huff 5

9. slang : a social affair ; especially : blowout , binge , spree

10. : bloat 2 — usually plural but sing. or plural in constr.

11.

a. : a leak in the packing of a valve or cylinder (as of a steam locomotive)

b. : the failure of a cofferdam or dike causing a sudden inrush of water through or under the structure

12. : blowhole

13.

a. : the period in the manufacture of water gas in which a blast of air is admitted to the ignited fuel bed for heating the bed by combustion before the run

b. : the blowing of gas from an open well

c.

(1) : the blast of air forced through molten metal to refine it (as in a Bessemer or other converter)

(2) : the time during which air is being forced through molten metal to refine it

(3) : the quantity of metal refined during that time

III. verb

( blew ; blown or obs blowe ; blowing ; blows )

Etymology: Middle English blowen, from Old English blōwan; akin to Old High German bluoen to bloom, Latin florēre to bloom, flos flower, folium leaf, Greek phyllon

intransitive verb

: flower , blossom , bloom

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows — Shakespeare

transitive verb

1. archaic : to cause to blossom

2. obsolete : to put forth (blossoms or flowers)

banks that blow flowers — John Milton

IV. noun

( -s )

1.

a. : a display of flowers

the south border made a fine blow this spring

b. : bloom II 1b — used chiefly in the phrases in blow, in full blow

the old lilac by the fence is in full blow

c. archaic : an individual flower

2. : full and perfect development : bloom II 2b

3.

a. : blossom 4

b. : blowout 8

V. noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English (northern dialect) blaw; perhaps akin to Old High German bliuwan to beat, Old Norse blegthi wedge, Gothic bliggwan to beat, Old English bealu evil — more at bale

1.

a. : a forcible stroke delivered with a part of the body (as the fist or head) or with an instrument (as a hammer) : buffet , punch , slap

b. Australia : a single stroke in shearing sheep

c. slang : base hit

2. : a hostile act or state : combat , fighting — usually used in plural and used especially in the phrase come to blows

nations like small boys have come to blows over the most trivial issues

3. : a forcible, determined, or sudden and unexpected act or effort : impact , assault

such a language … would solve many of his … difficulties at a single blow — Edward Sapir

shall we not support the downtrodden in their blow for freedom

4. : a severe and usually sudden misfortune or calamity

hail at this season was like a blow from heaven

: something that suddenly or unexpectedly produces mental, physical, or financial suffering or loss

the loss of her husband was a blow from which she never recovered

5. sports : misplay ; specifically : failure to bowl a spare when no split exists

- at a blow

VI. transitive verb

1. : fellate herein — usually considered vulgar

2. : smoke

a few had started blowing grass in their early teens — Daniel Greene

3. : to defeat decisively

has simply blown competitors from the field — Roger Sale

4. : to move quickly

blow past him in the final yards

- blow one's cool

- blow one's cover

- blow one's mind

- blow out of the water

VII. noun

Etymology: perhaps from blow (V)

slang : cocaine

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.