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Blow

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blow¹

  • /bləʊ/ UK
  • /blaː/ Northumbria
  • /bloʊ/ US

Rhymes with -əʊ

Where it comes from

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁-der.

Proto-Germanic *blēaną

Proto-West Germanic *blāan

Old English blāwan

Middle English blowen

English blow

From Middle English blowen, from Old English blāwan (“to blow, breathe, inflate, sound”), from Proto-West Germanic *blāan, from Proto-Germanic *blēaną (“to blow”) (compare German blähen), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- (“to swell, blow up”) (compare Latin flō (“to blow”) and Old Armenian բեղուն (bełun, “fertile”)).

verb blows · blowing · blew · blown

  1. intransitive To produce an air current. Lear. Blow windes, & crack your cheeks; Rage, blow / You Cataracts, and Hyrricano's ſpout,
  2. transitive To propel by an air current (or, if under water, a water current), usually with the mouth. Blow the dust off that book and open it up.
  3. intransitive To be propelled by an air current. The leaves blow through the streets in the fall.
  4. figuratively, transitive To direct or move, usually of a person to a particular location. "This is an unexpected pleasure!" exclaimed he. "What good fortune blows Lady Marchmont hither?"
  5. transitive To create or shape by blowing. to blow bubbles
  6. transitive To force a current of air upon with the mouth, or by other means. to blow the fire
  7. transitive To clear of contents by forcing air through. to blow an egg
  8. transitive To cause to make sound by blowing (as a musical instrument). Blow your horn! That car is about to hit us!
  9. intransitive To make a sound as a result of being blown. In the harbor, the ships’ horns blew.
  10. intransitive To exhale visibly through the spout the seawater which it has taken in while feeding. There’s nothing more thrilling to the whale watcher than to see a whale surface and blow.
  11. intransitive To burst or explode; to occur suddenly Get away from that burning gas tank! It’s about to blow!
  12. transitive To cause to explode, shatter, or be utterly destroyed. The demolition squad neatly blew the old hotel up.
  13. transitive To cause the sudden destruction of. He blew the tires and the engine.
  14. historical, transitive To blow from a gun (method of executing a person).
  15. intransitive To suddenly fail or give way destructively. He tried to sprint, but his ligaments blew and he was barely able to walk to the finish line.
  16. informal, intransitive Of a vein, to suffer a rupture or puncture in the wall as a result of an injection or cannula, causing fluid (blood, medication, or saline) to leak into the surrounding tissue.
  17. ergative To melt away because of overcurrent, creating a gap in a wire, thus stopping a circuit from operating.
  18. slang, transitive To recklessly squander. I managed to blow $1000 at blackjack in under an hour.
  19. idiomatic, informal, transitive To fail at; to mess up; to make a mistake in. I blew it and forgot to start the spaghetti, so I had plenty of sauce and no pasta.
  20. intransitive, slang, stative To be very undesirable. This blows!
  21. transitive, vulgar To perform oral sex on (someone); to fellate. Who did you have to blow to get those backstage passes?
  22. slang, transitive To leave, especially suddenly or in a hurry. Let’s blow this joint.
  23. intransitive To leave the Church of Scientology in an unauthorized manner.
  24. transitive To make flyblown; to defile or spoil, especially with fly eggs. Shall they hoyſt me vp, And ſhew me to the ſhowting Varlotarie Of cenſuring Rome? Rather a ditch in Egypt, Be gentle graue vnto me, rather on Nylus mudde Lay me ſtarke-nak'd, and let the water-Flies Blow me into abhorring;
  25. intransitive (of a fly) To lay eggs; to breed (in flesh or meat). […] said the bookseller, “but I cannot risk the expence of your debut - There are critics without as well as within a theatre.” - I know it, said I, interrupting him; “men who, like flies blowing on a piece of wholesome meat, can convert it into carrion - […]
  26. obsolete, transitive To spread by report; to publish; to disclose. Through the court his courtesy was blown.
  27. obsolete, transitive To inflate, as with pride; to puff up. O peace, now he's deepely in: looke how imagination blowes him.
  28. intransitive To breathe hard or quick; to pant; to puff. Rob. Miſtris Ford, Miſtris Ford: heere's Miſtris Page at the doore, ſsweating, and blowing, and looking wildely, and would needs ſpeake with you preſently.
  29. transitive To put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue.
  30. dated, intransitive To talk loudly; boast; brag. I don't want the worst characters in hell to be running after me with friendly messages and little testimonials of admiration for Smythe, and blowing about his talents, and bragging on him, and belching their villainous fire and brimstone all through the atmosphere and making my place smell worse th
  31. dated, slang, transitive To slander, insult, critique or discredit (someone); to reprimand or scold (someone).
  32. UK, archaic, slang, transitive To expose, or inform on. 'As for that,' says Will, 'I could tell it well enough, if I had it, but I must not be seen anywhere among my old acquaintances, for I am blown, and they will all betray me.'
  33. informal, intransitive, slang To sing. That girl has a wonderful voice; just listen to her blow!
  34. colloquial, intransitive, slang To flatulate or defecate. Uh, oh! I gotta blow!
  35. transitive To generate (a reading) on a breath alcohol meter. I blew a zero, so the cop let me drive on.

noun blows

  1. countable, uncountable A strong wind. We’re having a bit of a blow this afternoon.
  2. countable, informal, uncountable A chance to catch one's breath. The players were able to get a blow during the last timeout.
  3. US, slang, uncountable Powder cocaine. Hi there, you're a pretty cute chick, want to snort some blow?
  4. UK, slang, uncountable Cannabis.
  5. slang, uncountable Heroin.
  6. countable, informal, uncountable, vulgar A blowjob; fellatio. His girlfriend gave him a blow.
  7. countable, uncountable An instance of using high-pressure air to empty water from the ballast tanks of a submarine, increasing the submarine's buoyancy and causing it to surface. The sounding of the alarm was the signal to begin the emergency blow maneuver. At this time, witnesses reported, the guest at the high-pressure air controls operated the levers under close supervision of Navy personnel, and the submarine started to rise at a sharp angle.

interjection

  1. Used to express displeasure or frustration. Blow the expense!

blow²

  • /bləʊ/ UK
  • /blaː/ Northumbria
  • /bloʊ/ US

Rhymes with -əʊ

Where it comes from

From Middle English blo, bloo, from Old English blāw (“blue”), from Proto-Germanic *blēwaz (“blue, dark blue, grey, black”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlēw- (“yellow, blond, grey”). Cognate with Latin flavus (“yellow”). Doublet of blue.

adjective blower · more blow · blowest · most blow

  1. Blue.

blow³

  • /bləʊ/ UK
  • /blaː/ Northumbria
  • /bloʊ/ US

Rhymes with -əʊ

Where it comes from

From Middle English blowe, blaw, northern variant of blēwe, from Proto-Germanic *blewwaną (“to beat”) (compare Old Norse blegði (“wedge”), German einbläuen, Middle Dutch blouwen). Related to block.

noun blows

  1. An instance of the act of striking or hitting. A fabricator is used to direct a sharp blow to the surface of the stone.
  2. A sudden or forcible act or effort; an assault. There he found that […] Hanno's camp was crowded with cattle and carriages, and a mixed multitude of unarmed men, and even of women and children; and that a vigorous blow might win it with all its spoil: the indefatigable general was absent, scouring the country for additional supplies of corn.
  3. A damaging occurrence. A further blow to the group came in 1917 when Thomson died while canoeing in Algonquin Park.
  4. Australia, historical A cut made to a sheep's fleece by a shearer using hand-shears. Click goes his shears; click, click, click. / Wide are the blows, and his hand is moving quick, / The ringer looks round, for he lost it by a blow, / And he curses that old shearer with the bare belled ewe.
  5. Australia, New Zealand An outcrop of quartz from surrounding rock, thought to indicate mineral deposits below. "Blows" of quartz, crop out above the layers of slate, granite, and sandstone formation.
  6. Synonym of button (“the punchy or suspenseful line of dialogue that concludes a scene”). The blow is important because it transitions the reader and eventually the audience from one scene to another.

blow⁴

  • /bləʊ/ UK
  • /blaː/ Northumbria
  • /bloʊ/ US

Rhymes with -əʊ

Where it comes from

From Middle English blowen, from Old English blōwan, from Proto-Germanic *blōaną (compare Dutch bloeien, German blühen), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- (compare Latin florēre (“to bloom”)).

verb blows · blowing · blew · blown

  1. To blossom; to cause to bloom or blossom. You ſeeme to me as Diane in her Orbe, / As chaſte as is the budde ere it be blowne:

noun blows

  1. A state of flowering; a bloom. roses in full blow
  2. A display or mass of flowers; a yield. [H]e believed he could shew me such a blow of tulips as was not to be matched in the whole country.
  3. figuratively A display of anything bright or brilliant.

Blow⁵

proper noun Blows

  1. A surname.

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