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- Dictionaryblow/bləʊ/
verb
- 1. (of wind) move creating an air current: "a cold breeze was blowing in off the sea" Similar gustpuffflurryblastroarblusterrushstormmovebe in motion
- ▪ (of wind) cause (something) to move; propel: "a gust of wind blew a cloud of smoke into his face" Similar sweepcarrypulldragdrivebuffetmovewhisktosswaftwhirl
- ▪ be carried, driven, or moved by the wind or an air current: "it was so windy that the tent nearly blew away" Similar driftflutterwaftflowstreamwhirlmovewaveflapundulatefloatglidetravelbe carried
- ▪ leave a place: informal North American "I'd better blow"
- 2. expel air through pursed lips: "Will took a deep breath, and blew"
- ▪ use one's breath to propel (something): "he blew cigar smoke in her face" Similar exhalebreathe outpuff outemitexpeldischargegive outissuesend forth
- ▪ breathe hard; pant: "Uncle Albert was soon puffing and blowing" Similar wheezepuffpantpuff and pantgasphuff and puffbreathe hard/heavilyfight for breathcatch one's breath
- ▪ force air through the mouth into (an instrument or device) in order to make a sound: "the umpire blew his whistle" Similar soundplayblasttootpipetrumpetmake a noise with
- ▪ (of an instrument or device) make a sound when air is forced into it: "police whistles blew"
- ▪ sound (the horn of a vehicle): "angry motorists blew their horns"
- ▪ play jazz or rock music in an unrestrained style: informal "it took him maybe five choruses to warm up, but then he could really blow"
- ▪ force air through a tube into (molten glass) in order to create an artefact: "in the factory showrooms you can see glass being blown and painted"
- ▪ remove the contents of (an egg) by forcing air through it.
- ▪ (of a whale) eject air and vapour through the blowhole.
- 3. (of an explosion or explosive device) displace violently or send flying: "the blast had blown the windows out of the van"
- ▪ (of a vehicle tyre) burst suddenly while the vehicle is in motion: "a rear tyre had blown"
- ▪ burst or cause to burst due to pressure or overheating: "the engines sounded as if their exhausts had blown" Similar burstexplodeblow outsplitrupturecrackbreakfly openpunctureget a punctureget a flat tyre
- ▪ (with reference to an electric circuit) burn out or be caused to burn out through overloading: "the fuse had blown" Similar fuseshort-circuitburn outexpirebreakgo
- 4. spend recklessly: informal "they blew £100,000 in just eighteen months" Similar squanderwastemisspendthrow awayfritter awayspend freelyrun throughgo throughloselavishdissipatemake poor use ofbe prodigal withspend recklesslyspend unwiselyspend like waterthrow around like confettiburnuse upinformal:splurgepour/throw down the drainspend as if it grows on treesspend as if there were no tomorrowspend as if it were going out of stylesplash outblueOpposite savespend wisely
- 5. waste (an opportunity): informal "he'd been given a second chance and he'd blown it" Similar spoilruinbunglemake a mess ofmess upfudgemuffwastelosesquanderthrow awayinformal:botchmake a hash ofscrew uplouse upfoul upbodgefluffcock upvulgar slang:fuck upbugger up
- ▪ expose (a stratagem): "a man whose cover was blown" Similar exposerevealuncoverdisclosedivulgeunveilbetrayleak
- 6. used in various expressions to express surprise or as a mild oath: informal British "‘Well, blow me’, he said, ‘I never knew that.’"
- 7. perform fellatio on (a man). vulgar slang
- 8. be extremely bad or unwelcome: informal US "‘This blows,’ she sighs, ‘I want it to be next week already’"
- 9. (of flies) lay eggs in or on (something).
noun
- 1. a strong wind: "we're in for a bit of a blow" Similar galestormtempesthurricaneblastsuperstormwindbreezegustpuff of winddraughtflurryturbulenceliterary:zephyr
- ▪ an act of getting some fresh air: "I'll go down to the sea and get a blow before supper"
- 2. an act of blowing an instrument: "a number of blows on the whistle" Similar tootblareblastsoundwhistleshriek
- ▪ a spell of playing jazz or rock music. informal
- ▪ an act of blowing one's nose: "give your nose a good blow"
- ▪ (in steel-making) an act of sending an air or oxygen blast through molten metal in a converter.
- 3. cannabis. informal British
- ▪ cocaine in the form of powder. informal US
Word Origin Old Englishblāwan, of Germanic origin; related to German blähen ‘blow up, swell’, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin flare ‘blow’.
Scrabble Points: 9
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3L
1O
1W
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