- blow
- 1
past tense blew, past participle blown
verb
1 (I) WIND MOVING if the wind or a current of air blows, it moves: A cold breeze was blowing.2 WIND MOVING STH (intransitive usually + adv/prep, transitive) to move something, or to be moved, by the force of the wind or a current of air: Her hair was blowing in the breeze. | A sudden draught blew the door shut.3 AIR FROM YOUR MOUTH (I, T) to send out a current of air from your mouth: She blew on her coffee to cool it down.4 MAKE A NOISE (I, T) to make a sound by passing air through a musical instrument or a horn: The whistle blew for halftime.5 VIOLENCE (T) to damage or destroy something violently with an explosion or by shooting: blow sth away/out/off: The explosion blew the ship right out of the water.6 LOSE MONEY (T) informal to spend all your money at one time in a careless way: Hés blown all his wages on a new stereo.7 LOSE AN OPPORTUNITY (T) informal to lose a good opportunity by making a mistake or by being careless: Wéve blown our chances of getting that new contract.8 SURPRISE/ANNOYANCE blow/blow me/blow that etc BrE spoken used to show surprise, annoyance, or determination: Blow me if she didn`t just run off! | Blow it! I forgot to phone Jane.9 MAKE A SHAPE (T) to make or shape something by sending out a current of air from your mouth: blow a bubble (=make a ball shape) | blow glass (=shape glass by blowing into it when it is very hot)10 blow sth (up) out of all proportion to make something seem much more serious or important than it is11 LEAVE blow town AmE slang to leave a place quickly12 ELECTRICITY STOPS (I, T) if an electrical fuse 1 (1) blows, or a piece of electrical equipment blows a fuse 1 (1), the electricity suddenly stops working because a thin wire has melted13 TYRE (I, T) if a tyre blows or if a car blows a tyre, it bursts14 MAKE A SECRET KNOWN to make known a secret about someone or something: Your coming here has blown the whole operation. | blow sb's cover (=make known what someone's real job or name is): It is believed Ames blew the cover of up to twenty agents. | blow the gaff BrE slang (=tell something secret, especially without intending to)15 blow hot and cold informal to keep changing your attitude towards someone or something: I can`t tell what he wants - he keeps blowing hot and cold.16 blow sb a kiss to kiss your hand and then pretend to blow the kiss towards someone: She blew him a kiss from across the street.17 blow your mind informal to make you feel very surprised and excited by something: Meeting her after so many years really blew my mind.-see also: mind-blowing18 blow your nose to clean your nose by forcing air through it into a cloth or a piece of soft paper19 blow sth sky-higha) to destroy an idea, plan etc by showing that it cannot be true or effective: This new information blows his theory sky-high.b) to completely destroy a building or structure with an explosion20 blow your top/stack informal to become extremely angry quickly or suddenly21 blow your own trumpet/horn informal to praise yourself for your own achievements: You have to blow your own trumpet sometimes - no one else'll do it for you22 blow the whistle on informal to bring something that is wrong to the attention of an authority or the public23 blow a gasket/fuse informal to become very angry and upset: Don't tell her that, she'll blow a fuse!blow away phrasal verb informal especially AmE1 (transitive blow someone away) to kill someone by shooting them with a gun: One move and I'll blow you away!2 (transitive blow someone away) to defeat someone completely, especially in a game: Nancy blew away the rest of the skaters.3 (transitive blow someone away) to completely surprise someone, especially with something they admire
Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.
