26984 words

blowing

30 definitions • 39 examples
1
to move and make currents of air, or to be moved or make something move on a current of air:

Examples:

blow away The letter blew away and I had to run after it.
blow something down A gale-force wind had blown the fence down .
The wind was blowing harder every minute.
I blew the dust off the books.
I wish you wouldn't blow smoke in my face.
2
to make a sound by forcing air out of your mouth and through an instrument, or to make a sound when someone does this:

Examples:

Ann blew a few notes on the trumpet.
He scored the winning goal just before the whistle blew.
3
to blow air down a tube into a piece of heated soft glass, in order to shape it into an object:

Examples:

a beautiful blown glass vase
4
to force air from your lungs and through your nose to clear it:

Examples:

Remember to wash your hands after you blow your nose.
5
to kiss your hand and blow on it in the direction of someone:

Examples:

As I finished my speech, she blew me a kiss from the audience.
6
to cause something to be destroyed by a bomb, technical failure, etc.:

Examples:

His car had been blown to pieces.
7
If an electrical fuse (= a short, thin piece of wire) blows, or if something electrical blows a fuse, the device it is in stops working because it is receiving too much electricity:

Examples:

My microwave has stopped working - I think the fuse has blown.
blow a fuse She switched on the light and blew all the fuses in the house.
8
If a tyre blows, it suddenly gets a hole in it and goes flat.
9
to seriously damage something by making it explode:

Examples:

The explosion blew the building sky-high.
10
to spend a large amount of money, especially on things that are not really necessary:

Examples:

When I got paid I blew it all on a night out.
11
a hard hit with a hand or a weapon:

Examples:

a sharp blow to the stomach
12
an unexpected event that has a damaging effect on someone or something:

Examples:

Losing his job was a severe blow to his confidence.
Her death came as a terrible blow to her parents.
13
an act of blowing:

Examples:

a blow on the trumpet
It took him three blows to get all the candles out.
14
a walk in the fresh air:

Examples:

Shall we go out for a blow?
15
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17
to make a current of air, or to move something or be moved with a current of air:

Examples:

[ M ] The wind blew over a garbage can (= pushed it down on its side).
[ M ] We brought in the birthday cake and watched Lisa blow out the candles.
18
To blow up something is to push air inside it to make it larger:

Examples:

[ M ] We blew 12 balloons up for Charles’ party.
19
If you blow your nose, you force air through it to push out something that is blocking it, so that you can breathe better.
20
to destroy something in an explosion or to be destroyed in this way:

Examples:

[ T ] The gas explosion blew a huge hole in the ground.
[ M ] The explosion from the gas leak blew all the windows out.
21
infml To blow a sum of money is to spend it in a foolish way:

Examples:

[ T ] I blew my first paycheck on a night out with my friends.
22
a hard hit with the hand or a weapon:

Examples:

A sharp blow on the chest sent him spinning to the floor.
23
A blow is also an unexpected, harmful event:

Examples:

Her death at twenty was a terrible blow to her parents.
24
If people come to blows, they physically fight:

Examples:

The brothers almost came to blows over sharing the car.
25
to spend a lot of money on something that is not important or effective:

Examples:

Central Bank blew $900m of foreign-exchange reserves in the first two weeks of October alone.
26
to tell someone in authority about something harmful or illegal that someone is doing:

Examples:

If two of the firm's employees hadn't blown the whistle, the scandal would never have become known.
27
to tell people the real and unpleasant facts about something that were previously not known:

Examples:

The report blew the lid on the culture of secrecy surrounding the company's new range of fizzy-drink products.
28
to cause serious harm or damage to something:

Examples:

Defeat would blow a hole in the club's finances.
29
something that causes serious problems or spoils your chances of success:

Examples:

be a blow to sth The loss of 1000 jobs is another blow to the country's manufacturing sector.
come as a blow (to sb/sth) Unemployment figures will come as a blow to the Chancellor as he prepares next week's budget.
deal/deliver a blow (to sb/sth) Rising pollution levels threaten to deal a blow to the state's billion-dollar tourism industry.
30
to make the bad effects of something seem to be not as bad as they could have been:

Examples:

If things go wrong there are no mechanisms to soften the blow.

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