blow

verb

/bləʊ/

In sense 14 blowed

/bləʊd/

is used for the past participle.

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they blow	/bləʊ/ /bləʊ/
he / she / it blows	/bləʊz/ /bləʊz/
past simple blew	/bluː/ /bluː/
past participle blown	/bləʊn/ /bləʊn/
-ing form blowing	/ˈbləʊɪŋ/ /ˈbləʊɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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from mouth

[intransitive, transitive] to send out air from the mouth

+ adv./prep. You're not blowing hard enough!
The policeman asked me to blow into the breathalyser.
blow something + adv./prep. He drew on his cigarette and blew out a stream of smoke.

Topics Weathera2

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

hard
strongly
gently
…

preposition

from
off

phrases

blow something off course
see which way the wind is blowing

See full entry

of wind

[intransitive, transitive] when the wind or a current of air blows, it is moving; when it blows, the wind is blowing

The birds were singing and a warm wind was blowing.
+ adv./prep. A cold wind blew from the east.
It was blowing hard.
It was blowing a gale (= there was a strong wind).

Homophones blew | blueblew blue

/bluː/

blew verb (past tense of blow)
- The wind blew the door shut.
blue adjective
- Both candidates wore blue jeans.
blue noun
- They chose an intense blue for the walls.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

hard
strongly
gently
…

preposition

from
off

phrases

blow something off course
see which way the wind is blowing

See full entry

move with wind/breath

[intransitive, transitive] to be moved by the wind, somebody’s breath, etc.; to move something in this way

+ adv./prep. My hat blew off.
+ adj. The door blew open.
blow somebody/something + adv./prep. I was almost blown over by the wind.
She blew the dust off the book.
The ship was blown onto the rocks.
The bomb blast blew two passers-by across the street.
blow something + adj. The wind blew the door shut.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

hard
strongly
gently
…

preposition

from
off

phrases

blow something off course
see which way the wind is blowing

See full entry

whistle/instrument

[transitive, intransitive] if you blow a whistle, musical instrument, etc. or if a whistle, etc. blows, you produce a sound by blowing into the whistle, etc.

the sound of trumpets blowing
blow something The referee blew his whistle.

your nose

[transitive] blow your nose to clear your nose by blowing strongly through it into a tissue or handkerchief

She grabbed a tissue and loudly blew her nose.

a kiss

[transitive] blow (somebody) a kiss to kiss your hand and then pretend to blow the kiss towards somebody

shape something

[transitive] blow something to make or shape something by blowing

to blow smoke rings
to blow bubbles (= for example, by blowing onto a thin layer of water mixed with soap)
to blow glass (= to send a current of air into melted glass to shape it)

electricity

[intransitive, transitive] blow (something) if a fuse blows or you blow a fuse, the electricity stops flowing suddenly because the fuse (= a thin wire) has melted because the current was too strongTopics Engineeringc2

tyre

[intransitive, transitive] to break open or apart, especially because of pressure from inside; to make a tyre break in this way

The car spun out of control when a tyre blew.
The truck blew a tyre and lurched off the road.

with explosives

[transitive] blow something to break something open with explosives

The safe had been blown by the thieves.

secret

[transitive] blow something (informal) to make known something that was secret

One mistake could blow your cover (= make your real name, job, intentions, etc. known).
We’re going to blow his operation wide open.

money

[transitive] blow something (on something) (informal) to spend or waste a lot of money on something

He inherited over a million dollars and blew it all on drink and gambling.

Topics Moneyc2

opportunity

[transitive] blow something (informal) to waste an opportunity

She blew her chances by arriving late for the interview.
You had your chance and you blew it.

exclamation

[transitive] blow somebody/something (British English, informal) used to show that you are annoyed, surprised or do not care about something

Blow it! We've missed the bus.
Well, blow me down! I never thought I'd see you again.
I'm blowed if I'm going to (= I certainly will not) let him treat you like that.
Let's take a taxi and blow (= never mind) the expense.

leave suddenly

[transitive, intransitive] blow (something) (North American English, informal) to leave a place suddenly

Let's blow this joint.

Word Originverb Old English blāwan, of Germanic origin; related to German blähen ‘blow up, swell’, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin flare ‘blow’.

Idioms

blow your/somebody’s brains out

to kill yourself/somebody by shooting yourself/them in the head
- He put a gun to his head and threatened to blow his brains out.
- While cleaning his shotgun he had accidentally blown his own brains out.

blow chunks

(North American English, slang) to vomit

blow/clear the cobwebs away

to help somebody have a fresh, lively state of mind again
- A brisk walk should blow the cobwebs away.

blow a fuse

(informal) to get very angryTopics Feelingsc2

blow the gaff (on somebody/something)

(British English, informal) to tell something secret, especially by mistake

blow hot and cold (about something)

(informal) to change your opinion about something oftenTopics Opinion and argumentc2

blow your mind

(informal) to produce a very strong feeling of pleasure or shock
- Wait till you hear this. It'll blow your mind.
- a collection of photographs that will blow your mind
see also mind-blowing

blow/let off steam

(informal) to get rid of your energy, anger or strong emotions by doing something active or noisy
- I went for a long walk to let off steam.
- I like blowing off steam and I like saying things that shock people.

blow somebody/something out of the water (informal)

to destroy somebody/something completely
to show that somebody/something is not good by being very much better than it/them
- I like my old phone, but this new model blows it out of the water.

blow your own trumpet (especially British English)

(North American English usually blow/toot your own horn)

(informal) to praise your own abilities and achievements synonym boastTopics Successc2

blow smoke (up somebody’s ass)

(North American English, taboo, slang) to try to trick somebody or lie to somebody, particularly by saying something is better than it really is

blow/knock somebody’s socks off

(informal) to surprise or impress somebody very muchTopics Feelingsc2

blow that for a lark

(also taboo sod that for a lark)

(British English, slang) used by somebody who does not want to do something because it involves too much effort
- Sod that for a lark! I'm not doing any more tonight.

blow somebody/something to bits/pieces

to use bombs or other weapons to destroy somebody/something completely
- The plane was blown to pieces when the bomb exploded.

blow somebody/something to kingdom come

(informal) to completely destroy somebody/something with an explosion
- The truck was blown to kingdom come.

blow your top

(North American English also blow your stack)

(informal) to get very angry

blow up in somebody’s face

if a plan, etc. blows up in your face, it goes badly wrong in a way that causes you damage or makes you feel embarrassed

blow the whistle on somebody/something

(informal) to tell somebody in authority about something wrong or illegal that somebody is doing

it’s an ill wind (that blows nobody any good)

(saying) no problem is so bad that it does not bring some advantage to somebody

lift the lid on something | take/blow the lid off something

to tell people unpleasant facts about something
- Her article lifts the lid on bullying in the workplace.

puff and blow

(also puff and pant informal)

to breathe quickly and loudly through your mouth after physical effort
- Eventually, puffing and blowing, he arrived at the gate.
More Like This Alliteration in idioms
Alliteration in idioms
- belt and braces
- black and blue
- born and bred
- chalk and cheese
- chop and change
- done and dusted
- down and dirty
- in dribs and drabs
- eat somebody out of house and home
- facts and figures
- fast and furious
- first and foremost
- forgive and forget
- hale and hearty
- hem and haw
- kith and kin
- mix and match
- part and parcel
- puff and pant
- to rack and ruin
- rant and rave
- risk life and limb
- short and sweet
- signed and sealed
- spic and span
- through thick and thin
- this and that
- top and tail
- tried and tested
- wax and wane

see which way the wind is blowing

to get an idea of what is likely to happen before deciding what to do

blow

noun

/bləʊ/

Idioms

jump to other results

a hard hit with the hand, a weapon, etc.
- She received a severe blow on the head.
- He was knocked out by a single blow to the head.
- The two men were exchanging blows.
- He landed a blow on Hill's nose.
Extra Examples
- He felt a stinging blow across the side of his face.
- It was the gardener who delivered the fatal blow.
- Jack caught him a glancing blow on the jaw.
- The blow knocked him to the ground.
- The force of the blow knocked him out.
- He rained heavy blows on the old woman.
- The man went down in a hail of blows.
- two blows of the axe
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- hard
- heavy
- nasty
- …
… of blows
- flurry
verb + blow
- get
- receive
- suffer
- …
blow + verb
- fall
- land
- knock somebody down, over, etc.
- …
preposition
- blow of
- blow on
- blow to
- …
phrases
- come to blows
- the force of the blow
See full entry
blow (to somebody/something) a sudden event that hurts or damages somebody/something, causing the people affected to be sad or disappointed
- Losing his job came as a terrible blow to him.
- It was a shattering blow to her pride.
- The new cuts will be seen as a crippling blow for people on low incomes.
- The recent bomb attacks are a serious blow for the peace process.
see also body blow
- The blow came at a meeting on Saturday.
- The news came as a bitter blow to the staff.
- a mortal blow to British industry
- Can you stay with Cathy tonight? She's had a bit of a blow.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- big
- great
- huge
- …
verb + blow
- deal (somebody/something)
- deliver
- strike
- …
blow + verb
- come
- fall
preposition
- blow for
- blow to
phrases
- a bit of a blow
See full entry
the action of blowing
- Give your nose a good blow (= clear it completely).
- Try to put the candles out in one blow.
- I’ll give three blows on the whistle as a signal.

Word Originnoun late Middle English: of unknown origin.

Idioms

a blow-by-blow account, description, etc. (of something)

(informal) a description of an event that gives you all the details in the order in which they happen
- He insisted on giving us a blow-by-blow account of what had happened.

come to blows (over something)

to start fighting because of something
- We almost came to blows over what colour the new carpet should be.
- The children came to blows over the new toy.

deal somebody/something a blow | deal a blow to somebody/something (formal)

to shock somebody/something very much; to be very harmful to somebody/something
- Her sudden death dealt a blow to the whole country.
to hit somebody/something

soften/cushion the blow

to make something that is unpleasant seem less unpleasant and easier to accept
- I should try to soften the blow of this news.
- The chancellor may try to soften the blow somewhat with a cut in interest rates.

strike a blow for/against/at something

to do something in support of/against a belief, principle, etc.
- He felt that they had struck a blow for democracy.