blow

blow¹

/bloh/, n.

1. a sudden, hard stroke with a hand, fist, or weapon: a blow to the head.

2. a sudden shock, calamity, reversal, etc.: His wife's death was a terrible blow to him.

3. a sudden attack or drastic action: The invaders struck a blow to the south.

4. at one blow, with a single act: He became wealthy and famous at one blow. Also, at a blow.

5. come to blows, to begin to fight, esp. to engage in physical combat: They came to blows over the referee's ruling.

6. strike a blow, to hit.

7. strike a blow for, to further or advance the cause of: to strike a blow for civil rights.

8. without striking a blow, without a battle or contest: The military coup was accomplished without striking a blow.

[1425-75; late ME blaw, northern form repr. later blowe; akin to OHG bliuwan, Goth bliggwan to beat]

Syn. 1. buffet, thump, thwack, rap, slap, cuff, box, beat, knock. 1, 2. BLOW, STROKE, HIT, SLAP refer to a sudden or forceful impact, but differ in their literal and figurative uses. BLOW emphasizes the violence of the impact and, figuratively, adverse fortune: a blow from a hammer; a blow to one's hopes. STROKE emphasizes movement as well as impact; it indicates precision or, figuratively, either good fortune or sudden or unexpected pain or misfortune: the stroke of a piston; a stroke of luck, of lightning; a paralytic stroke.

HIT, in its current uses, emphasizes the successful result of a literal or figurative blow, impact, or impression, for example in baseball, social life, the theater: a two-base hit; to make a hit with someone; a smash hit. SLAP, a blow with the open hand or with something flat, emphasizes the instrument with which the blow is delivered and, often, the resulting sound; figuratively, it connotes an unfriendly or sarcastic statement, action, or attitude: Her coldness was like a slap in the face; the slap of a beaver's tail on the water.

blow²

/bloh/, v., blew, blown, blowing, n.

v.i.

1. (of the wind or air) to be in motion.

2. to move along, carried by or as by the wind: Dust seemed to blow through every crack in the house.

3. to produce or emit a current of air, as with the mouth or a bellows: Blow on your hands to warm them.

4. (of a horn, trumpet, etc.) to give out sound.

5. to make a blowing sound; whistle: The siren blew just as we rounded the corner.

6. (of horses) to breathe hard or quickly; pant.

7. Informal. to boast; brag: He kept blowing about his medals.

8. Zool. (of a whale) to spout.

9. (of a fuse, light bulb, vacuum tube, tire, etc.) to burst, melt, stop functioning, or be destroyed by exploding, overloading, etc. (often fol. by out): A fuse blew just as we sat down to dinner. The rear tire blew out.

10. to burst from internal pressure: Poorly sealed cans will often blow.

11. Slang. to leave; depart.

v.t.

12. to drive by means of a current of air: A sudden breeze blew the smoke into the house.

13. to spread or make widely known: Growing panic blew the rumor about.

14. to drive a current of air upon.

15. to clear or empty by forcing air through: Try blowing your nose.

16. to shape (glass, smoke, etc.) with a current of air: to blow smoke rings.

17. to cause to sound, as by a current of air: Blow your horn at the next crossing.

18. Jazz. to play (a musical instrument of any kind).

19. to cause to explode (often fol. by up, to bits, etc.): A mine blew the ship to bits.

20. to burst, melt, burn out, or destroy by exploding, overloading, etc. (often fol. by out): to blow a tire; blow a fuse.

21. to destroy; demolish (usually fol. by down, over, etc.): The windstorm blew down his house.

22. Informal.

a. to spend money on.

b. to squander; spend quickly: He blew a fortune on racing cars.

c. to waste; lose: The team blew the lead by making a bad play.

23. Informal. to mishandle, ruin, botch; make a mess of; bungle: With one stupid mistake he blew the whole project. It was your last chance and you blew it!

24. Slang. to damn: Blow the cost!

25. to put (a horse) out of breath by fatigue.

26. Slang. to depart from: to blow town.

27. Slang (vulgar). to perform fellatio on.

28. Slang. to smoke (marijuana or other drugs).

29. blow away, Slang.

a. to kill, esp. by gunfire: The gang threatened to blow away anyone who talked to the police.

b. to defeat decisively; trounce: She blew her opponent away in three straight sets.

c. to overwhelm with emotion, astonishment, etc.: Good poetry just blows me away.

30. blow down, Metall. to suspend working of (a blast furnace) by smelting the existing charge with a diminishing blast.

31. blow hot and cold, to favor something at first and reject it later on; waver; vacillate: His enthusiasm for the job blows hot and cold.

32. blow in,

a. Slang. to arrive at a place, esp. unexpectedly: My uncle just blew in from Sacramento.

b. Metall. to begin operations in (a blast furnace).

33. blow off,

a. to allow steam to be released.

b. Informal. to reduce or release tension, as by loud talking.

34. blow one's cool, Slang. to lose one's composure; become angry, frantic, or flustered.

35. blow one's cover. See cover (def. 53).

36. blow one's lines, Theat. to forget or make an error in a speaking part or stage directions.

37. blow one's mind. See mind (def. 20).

38. blow one's stack. See stack (def. 17).

39. blow one's top. See top¹ (def. 21).

40. blow out,

a. to become extinguished: The candles blew out at once.

b. to lose force or cease: The storm has blown itself out.

c. (of an oil or gas well) to lose oil or gas uncontrollably.

d. Metall. to blow down and clean (a blast furnace) in order to shut down.

41. blow over,

a. to pass away; subside: The storm blew over in five minutes.

b. to be forgotten: The scandal will eventually blow over.

42. blow up,

a. to come into being: A storm suddenly blew up.

b. to explode: The ship blew up.

c. to cause to explode: to blow up a bridge.

d. to exaggerate; enlarge: He blew up his own role in his account of the project.

e. Informal. to lose one's temper: When he heard she had quit school, he blew up.

f. to fill with air; inflate: to blow up a tire.

g. Photog. to make an enlarged reproduction of.

h. Math. (of a function) to become infinite.

n.

43. a blast of air or wind: to clean machinery with a blow.

44. Informal. a violent windstorm, gale, hurricane, or the like: one of the worst blows we ever had around here.

45. an act of producing a blast of air, as in playing a wind instrument: a few discordant blows by the bugler.

46. Metall.

a. a blast of air forced through a converter, as in the production of steel or copper.

b. the stage of the production process during which this blast is used.

47. Civ. Engin. boil¹ (def. 15).

48. Slang. cocaine.

[bef. 1000; ME blowen (v.), OE blawan; c. L flare to blow]

blow³

/bloh/, n., v., blew, blown, blowing.

n.

1. a yield or display of blossoms: the lilac's lavender blows.

2. a display of anything bright or brilliant: a rich, full blow of color.

3. state of blossoming; a flowering: a border of tulips in full blow.

v.i., v.t.

4. Archaic. to blossom or cause to blossom.

[bef. 1000; ME blowen (v.), OE blowan; akin to G blühen to bloom, L flos FLOWER]

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