Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - blow

~1 past tense blew, past participle blown ~ v 1 WIND MOVING if the wind or a current of air blows, it moves  (A cold breeze was blowing.) 2 »WIND MOVING STH« I usually + adv/prep, 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« to send out a current of air from your mouth  (She blew on her coffee to cool it down.) 4 »MAKE A NOISE« to make a sound by passing air through a musical instrument or a horn  (The whistle blew for halftime.) 5 »VIOLENCE« 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« informal to spend all your money at one time in a careless way  (Hйs blown all his wages on a new stereo.) 7 »LOSE AN OPPORTUNITY« informal to lose a good opportunity by making a mistake or by being careless  (Wйve 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« 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 is 11 »LEAVE« blow town AmE slang to leave a place quickly 12 »ELECTRICITY STOPS« if an electrical fuse1 (1) blows, or a piece of electrical equipment blows a fuse1 (1), the electricity suddenly stops working because a thin wire has melted 13 »TYRE« if a tyre blows or if a car blows a tyre, it bursts 14 »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-blowing) 18 blow your nose to clean your nose by forcing air through it into a cloth or a piece of soft paper 19 blow sth sky-high a) 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 explosion 20 blow your top/stack informal to become extremely angry quickly or suddenly 21 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 you) 22 blow the whistle on informal to bring something that is wrong to the attention of an authority or the public 23 blow a gasket/fuse informal to become very angry and upset  (Don't tell her that, she'll blow a fuse!) blow away phr v informal especially AmE 1 T blow someone away) to kill someone by shooting them with a gun  (One move and I'll blow you away!) 2 T blow someone away) to defeat someone completely, especially in a game  (Nancy blew away the rest of the skaters.) 3 T blow someone away) to completely surprise someone, especially with something they admire blow down ~ phr v if the wind blows something down, or if something blows down, the wind makes it fall  (blow sth down trees blown down in the gale) blow in ~ phr v informal especially AmE to arrive unexpectedly  (Jim blew in about an hour ago - did you see him?) blow sb/sth off ~ phr v AmE slang to treat someone or something as unimportant  (It seems crazy that they blew off Jurassic Park when they were choosing best movies.) blow out ~ phr v 1 if you blow a flame or a fire out, or if it blows out, it stops burning  (blow sth out)  (Blow out all the candles. | The match blew out before I could light the candles.) 2 if a tyre blows out, it bursts 3 blow itself out if a storm blows itself out, it ends  (We sheltered in a barn waiting for the storm to blow itself out.) 4 T blow someone out) a) AmE spoken to easily defeat someone  (We blew them out 28 - zero.) b) BrE spoken to disappoint someone by not meeting them or not doing what you have agreed to  (He blew me out again last night - I've had enough.) 5 if an oil or gas well blows out, oil or gas suddenly escapes blow over ~ phr v 1 if the wind blows something over, or it blows over, the wind makes it fall  (Our fence blew over in the storm. | blow sth over You could get blown over in a hurricane.) 2 if a storm blows over, it comes to an end 3 if an argument or unpleasant situation blows over, it no longer seems important or is forgotten  (They weren't speaking to each other, but I think it's blown over now.) blow up ~ phr v 1 to destroy something, or to be destroyed, by an explosion  (The plane blew up in midair.)  (blow sth up)  (Rebels attempted to blow up the bridge.) 2 T blow something up) to fill something with air or gas  (Stop at the gas station and we'll blow up the tyres.) 3 T blow something up) if you blow up a photograph, you make it larger  (How much would it cost to have this photo blown up?) 4 if bad weather blows up, it suddenly arrives  (It looks as though there's a storm blowing up.) 5 if a situation, argument etc blows up, it suddenly becomes important or dangerous  (A crisis had blown up over the peace talks.) 6 to become very angry with someone  (Jenny's father blew up when she didn't come home last night.) ~2 n 1 »HARD HIT« a hard hit with the hand, a tool, or a weapon  (a blow on the head | three heavy blows from the hammer) 2 »BAD EFFECT« something that has a bad effect on your confidence or on the possibility of success  (Her rejection was a serious blow to his pride.) deal a blow  (Withdrawal of government funding dealt a serious blow to the project.) 3 »UNHAPPT EVENT« an event that makes you very unhappy or shocks you  (Her mother's death was a terrible blow.) 4 »BLOWING« an action of blowing  (It took three blows to put out the candles.) 5 come to blows to quarrel seriously and start hitting each other  (They almost came to blows over the money.) 6 soften/cushion the blow to help someone accept something unpleasant or bad 7 »WIND« a strong wind or storm  (- see also body blow, strike a blow for strike1 (13))