blow
see also: Blow
Pronunciation Verb

blow (blows, present participle blowing; past blew, past participle blown)

  1. (intransitive) To produce an air current.
    • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act III, scene ii], page 296 ↗, column 1:
      Lear. Blow windes, & crack your cheeks; Rage, blow
      You Cataracts, and Hyrricano's ſpout,
    • 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene i], page 1 ↗, column 1:
      Tend to th' Maſters whiſtle: Blow till thou burſt thy winde, if roome enough.
    • Hark how it rains and blows!
  2. (transitive) To propel by an air current.
    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. (transitive) To create or shape by blowing; as in to blow bubbles, to blow glass.
  5. To force a current of air upon with the mouth, or by other means.
    to blow the fire
  6. To clear of contents by forcing air through.
    to blow an egg
    to blow one's nose
  7. (transitive) To cause to make sound by blowing, as a musical instrument.
  8. (intransitive) To make a sound as the result of being blown.
    In the harbor, the ships' horns blew.
    • a. 1645, John Milton, “Il Penseroso”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […] , London: Printed by Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Moſely,  […], published 1645, OCLC 606951673 ↗, page 43 ↗:
      There let the pealing organ blow,
  9. (intransitive, of a cetacean) 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.
    There she blows! (i.e. "I see a whale spouting!")
  10. (intransitive) To explode.
    Get away from that burning gas tank! It's about to blow!
  11. (transitive, with "up" or with prep phrase headed by "to") To cause to explode, shatter, or be utterly destroyed.
    The demolition squad neatly blew the old hotel up.
    The aerosol can was blown to bits.
  12. (transitive) To cause sudden destruction of.
    He blew the tires and the engine.
  13. (intransitive) To suddenly fail destructively.
    He tried to sprint, but his ligaments blew and he was barely able to walk to the finish line.
  14. (intransitive) (used to express displeasure or frustration) Damn.
    • 1908 October, Kenneth Grahame, “The River Bank”, in The Wind in the Willows, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, OCLC 305520 ↗, pages 1–2 ↗:
      [H]e suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said 'Bother!' and 'Oh blow!' and also 'Hang spring-cleaning!' and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat.
  15. (intransitive, slang) To be very undesirable. (See also suck.)
    This blows!
  16. (transitive, slang) To recklessly squander.
    I managed to blow $1000 at blackjack in under an hour.
    I blew $35 thou on a car.
    We blew an opportunity to get benign corporate sponsorship.
  17. (transitive, vulgar) To fellate; to perform oral sex on (usually a man)
    Who did you have to blow to get those backstage passes?
  18. (transitive, slang) To leave, especially suddenly or in a hurry.
    Let's blow this joint.
  19. To make flyblown, to defile, especially with fly eggs.
    • c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act V, scene ii], page 365 ↗, column 1:
      Shall they hoyſt me vp,
      And ſhew me to the ſhowting varletry#English|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;
    • 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act III, scene i], page 11 ↗, column 1:
      Fer. I am, in my condition
      A Prince (Miranda) I do thinke a King
      (I would not ſo) and would no more endure
      This wodden ſlauerie, then to ſuffer
      The flesh-fly#English|fleſh-flie blow my mouth: heare my ſoule ſpeake.
  20. (obsolete) To spread by report; to publish; to disclose.
    • Through the court his courtesy was blown.
    • His language does his knowledge blow.
  21. (obsolete) To inflate, as with pride; to puff up.
    • c. 1601–1602, William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or VVhat You VVill”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act II, scene v], page 263 ↗, column 2:
      O peace, now he's deepely in: looke how imagination blowes him.
  22. (intransitive) To breathe hard or quick; to pant; to puff.
    • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The Merry VViues of VVindsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act III, scene iii], page 58 ↗, column 1:
      ''{{abbr
      Rob.
  23. (transitive) To put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue.
    to blow a horse
  24. (obsolete) To talk loudly; to boast; to storm.
    • You blow behind my back, but dare not say anything to my face.
  25. (slang, informal, AAVE) To sing
    That girl has a wonderful voice; just listen to her blow!
  26. (Scientology, intransitive) To leave the Church of Scientology in an unauthorized manner.
Translations Translations Translations
  • German: wehen
  • Portuguese: ser soprado
  • Russian: относи́ть
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Noun

blow (plural blows)

  1. A strong wind.
    We're having a bit of a blow this afternoon.
  2. (informal) A chance to catch one’s breath.
    The players were able to get a blow during the last timeout.
  3. (uncountable, US, slang) Cocaine.
  4. (uncountable, UK, slang) Cannabis.
  5. (uncountable, US Chicago Regional, slang) Heroin.
Synonyms Translations Translations
  • French: pause
  • Russian: переды́шка
Adjective

blow (comparative blower, superlative blowest)

  1. (now, chiefly, dialectal, Northern England) Blue.
Noun

blow (plural blows)

  1. The act of striking or hitting.
    A fabricator is used to direct a sharp blow to the surface of the stone.
    During an exchange to end round 13, Duran landed a blow to the midsection.
    Synonyms: bace, strike, hit, punch
  2. A sudden or forcible act or effort; an assault.
    • A vigorous blow might win [Hanno's camp].
  3. A damaging occurrence.
    A further blow to the group came in 1917 when Thomson died while canoeing in Algonquin Park.
    • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act IV, scene vi]:
      a most poor man, made tame to fortune's blows
    Synonyms: disaster, calamity
Translations Translations Verb

blow (blows, present participle blowing; past blew, past participle blown)

  1. To blossom; to cause to bloom or blossom.
    • 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 4 Scene 1
      You seem to me as Dian in her orb,
      As chaste as is the bud ere it be blown;
    • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 5
      How blows the citron grove.
Related terms Noun

blow (plural blows)

  1. A mass or display of flowers; a yield.
  2. A display of anything brilliant or bright.
  3. A bloom, state of flowering.
    Roses in full blow.
Related terms Translations
Blow
Proper noun
  1. Surname



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