blow

Etymology 1

From Middle English blowen, from Old English blāwan (“to blow, breathe, inflate, sound”), from Proto-West Germanic *blāan, from Proto-Germanic *blēaną (“to blow”) (compare German blähen), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- (“to swell, blow up”) (compare Latin flō (“to blow”) and Old Armenian բեղուն (bełun, “fertile”)).

verb

1. (intransitive) To produce an air current.
2. (transitive) To propel by an air current (or, if under water, a water current), usually with the mouth.
   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. (figurative) To direct or move, usually of a person to a particular location.
5. (transitive) To create or shape by blowing.
   to blow bubbles
   to blow glass
   Joe puffed on his pipe and blew a couple of smoke rings.
6. (transitive) To force a current of air upon with the mouth, or by other means.
   to blow the fire
7. (transitive) To clear of contents by forcing air through.
   to blow an egg
   to blow one's nose
   The submarine blew its main ballast tanks.
8. (transitive) To cause to make sound by blowing, as a musical instrument.
9. (intransitive) To make a sound as the result of being blown.
   In the harbor, the ships' horns blew.
10. (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!")
    Soon after he [a porpoise] appeared again, blowing very hard, but the next moment he turned over; Rasmus was not slow in putting the boat-hook in him and hauling him into the boat with my assistance. 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 184
11. (intransitive) To burst or explode; to occur suddenly
    Get away from that burning gas tank! It's about to blow!
    Hitler is very, very important, and something's going to blow in Europe. 1971, Herman Wouk, The Winds of War, page 12
12. (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.
    However, something once happened on the railway there which showed the very best of mankind: heroism, duty, self-sacrifice and calm professionalism under terrible pressure. It is a story which gives us far, far better reasons for remembering this attractive little town, which without these heroes would have been blown to smithereens in a gigantic explosion. (Two railwaymen lost their lives in 1944 when a wagon in an ammunition train caught fire and blew up, an even worse disaster was averted however.) January 12 2022, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 42
13. (transitive, historical, military, of a person) To blow from a gun.
14. (transitive) To cause the sudden destruction of.
    He blew the tires and the engine.
15. (intransitive) To suddenly fail destructively.
    He tried to sprint, but his ligaments blew and he was barely able to walk to the finish line.
    A common problem for double glazed windows (or doors) is mist or condensation between the panes of glass. This is known as a blown window or failed double glazing. But what does it cost to repair? (Can we date this quote?), Checkatrade.com, “Blown windows repair cost guide”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)
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.
    ‘Holy Mackerel, Ann! I’m certainly glad we blew ourselves for that outfit of yours.’ 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 136
17. (transitive, informal, idiomatic) To fail at something; to mess up; to make a mistake.
    I blew it and forgot to start the spaghetti, so I had plenty of sauce and no pasta.
    Good luck, and don't blow it!
    […] I put myself on the line for you. I told you I wasn't sure if I was ready for a relationship again and you blew it. You blew it! You call this a fresh start? This doesn't look like a fresh start to me. You're dicking me around just like the rest of them, Drew. 2006, Allison Rushby, Hating Valentine's Day, page 148
    Hodgson’s team attracted a certain amount of sympathy and understanding after the Italy defeat but it was beyond them to play with the same attacking panache and, if there is to be a feat of escapology, it will need an almost implausible combination of results and handouts in the final games of Group D. More realistically, they have blown it in their first week. 20 June 2014, Daniel Taylor, “World Cup 2014: Uruguay sink England as Suárez makes his mark”, in guardian.co.uk
18. (intransitive, stative, slang, sometimes considered vulgar) To be very undesirable.
    This blows!
19. (transitive, vulgar) To fellate; to perform oral sex on (usually a man).
    Who did you have to blow to get those backstage passes?
    The mandem all used to go round there and get head off her, the sister blowing the man line by line while her brother shotted downstairs in the stairwell. 2011, “Chyna”, in How I Escaped a Girl Gang: Rolling in a London Girl Gang
20. (transitive, slang) To leave, especially suddenly or in a hurry.
    Let's blow this joint.
21. (transitive) To make flyblown, to defile, especially with fly eggs.
22. (intransitive) (of a fly) To lay eggs; to breed.
    […] said the bookseller, “but I cannot risk the expence of your debut - There are critics without as well as within a theatre.” - I know it, said I, interrupting him; “men who, like flies blowing on a piece of wholesome meat, can convert it into carrion - […] 1807, Thomas Pike Lathy, Gabriel Forrester;or, The deserted son. A novel in four volumes, volume 2, London: Lewis and Hamblin, page 77
    In Cornwall, a singular mode of curing conger, once prevailed, which was, merely to split the conger in halves, and, without any further preparation, to hang them up in a kind of shambles erected for that purpose, when the flies, blowing on the fish, the progeny would devour all the parts liable to decomposition, whilst the residue, being dried in the sun, became in this manner fit for use: and, when perfectly cured, where exported to Spain and Portugal. There they were ground into powder, and with this preparation, the natives of those Countries used to thicken their soups. 1843, William Hughes(Piscator), Fish, How to Choose and How to Dress, London: Longman, Green, Brown, and Longmans, pages 41–42
    […]and often after they drop off the punctured skins are the seats of maggots, etc., owing to flies blowing on these injuries. 1921, “The British Veterinary Journal”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 77, Ballière Tindall, page 29
23. (obsolete) To spread by report; to publish; to disclose.
24. (obsolete) To inflate, as with pride; to puff up.
25. (intransitive) To breathe hard or quick; to pant; to puff.
26. (transitive) To put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue.
27. (dated) To talk loudly; boast; brag.
    I don't want the worst characters in hell to be running after me with friendly messages and little testimonials of admiration for Smythe, and blowing about his talents, and bragging on him, and belching their villainous fire and brimstone all through the atmosphere and making my place smell worse than a menagerie. February 6, 1866, Mark Twain, “Remarkable Dream”, in Virginia City Territorial Enterprise
    He didn't just set around and try to out sweettalk somebody; he got out and out-fit somebody. He wouldn't be blowing when he told his boys how he fit for the woman he got. a. 1940, Mildred Haun, “Shin-Bone Rocks”, in The Hawk's Done Gone, page 218
    At the breaking edge with him and completely fed up with his everlasting bragging and blowing about his personal exploits, and desirous of putting him somewhere, anywhere, so they wouldn't be continuously annoyed by him, […] 1969, Charles Ambrose McCarthy, The Great Molly Maguire Hoax, page 113
    Audie never liked him because he was further in with old Craig than he was, bragging and blowing about his work and the things he could do, while Audie sat quiet as a mouse listening to his blab. 1976, David Toulmin, Blown Seed, page 148
28. (UK, slang, archaic) To expose, or inform on.
    'As for that,' says Will, 'I could tell it well enough, if I had it, but I must not be seen anywhere among my old acquaintances, for I am blown, and they will all betray me.' 1722, Daniel Defoe, Colonel Jack
29. (slang, informal, African-American Vernacular) To sing.
    That girl has a wonderful voice; just listen to her blow!
30. (Scientology, intransitive) To leave the Church of Scientology in an unauthorized manner.
31. (slang, colloquial) To flatulate or defecate.
    Uh, oh! I gotta blow!

noun

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.
   Hey man, you wanna cop some blow? / Sure, what you got, dust, flakes or rocks? 1983, “White Lines (Don't Do It)”, performed by Grandmaster Melle Mel
   Jesus Christ, George, I don't see you for two years and you show up on my doorstep with 110 pounds of blow. 2001, David McKenna, Blow, spoken by Derek
   I ran out of blow a long time ago / I can't smoke a J or my guts fly away 2023, “Modern Day Ripoff”, in Every Loser, performed by Iggy Pop
4. (uncountable, UK, slang) Cannabis.
5. (uncountable, US Chicago Regional, slang) Heroin.
6. (informal, vulgar) A blowjob; fellatio.
   His girlfriend gave him a blow.
7. (nautical) An instance of using high-pressure air to empty water from the ballast tanks of a submarine, increasing the submarine's buoyancy and causing it to surface.
   The sounding of the alarm was the signal to begin the emergency blow maneuver. At this time, witnesses reported, the guest at the high-pressure air controls operated the levers under close supervision of Navy personnel, and the submarine started to rise at a sharp angle. 29 September 2005, National Transportation Safety Board, “Emergency Evolutions”, in Marine Accident Brief: Collision between the U.S. Navy Submarine USS Greeneville and Japanese Motor Vessel Ehime Maru near Oahu, Hawaii, 9 February 2001, archived from the original on 2022-03-25, page 24

intj

1. (intransitive) Used to express displeasure or frustration.

Etymology 2

From Middle English blo, bloo, from Old English blāw (“blue”), from Proto-Germanic *blēwaz (“blue, dark blue, grey, black”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlēw- (“yellow, blond, grey”). Cognate with Latin flavus (“yellow”). Doublet of blue.

adj

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

Etymology 3

From Middle English blowe, blaw, northern variant of blēwe, from Proto-Germanic *blewwaną (“to beat”) (compare Old Norse blegði (“wedge”), German einbläuen, Middle Dutch blouwen). Related to block.

noun

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.
2. A sudden or forcible act or effort; an assault.
3. A damaging occurrence.
   A further blow to the group came in 1917 when Thomson died while canoeing in Algonquin Park.
   Norwich returned to second in the Championship with victory over Nottingham Forest, whose promotion hopes were dealt another blow. April 15, 2011, Saj Chowdhury, “Norwich 2 - 1 Nott'm Forest”, in BBC Sport
4. (Australia, shearing, historical) A cut made to a sheep's fleece by a shearer using hand-shears.
   Click goes his shears; click, click, click. / Wide are the blows, and his hand is moving quick, / The ringer looks round, for he lost it by a blow, / And he curses that old shearer with the bare belled ewe. 5 Dec 1891, The Bacchus Marsh Express, Victoria, page 7, column 7
5. (Australia, New Zealand) An outcrop of quartz from surrounding rock, thought to indicate mineral deposits below.
   "Blows" of quartz, crop out above the layers of slate, granite, and sandstone formation. 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 315
6. (television) Synonym of button (“the punchy or suspenseful line of dialogue that concludes a scene”)
   The blow is important because it transitions the reader and eventually the audience from one scene to another. 2014, Martie Cook, Write to TV: Out of Your Head and onto the Screen, page 105

Etymology 4

From Middle English blowen, from Old English blōwan, from Proto-Germanic *blōaną (compare Dutch bloeien, German blühen), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- (compare Latin florēre (“to bloom”)).

verb

1. To blossom; to cause to bloom or blossom.
   Boys are at best but pretty buds unblown, / Whose scent and hues are rather guessed than known; 1784, William Cowper, Tirocinium; or, A Review of Schools
   Irám indeed is gone with all its Rose, And Jamshýd's Sev'n-ring'd Cup where no one knows; But still the Vine her ancient Ruby yields, And still a Garden by the Water blows. 1859, Edward Fitzgerald, The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám: The Astronomer-Poet of Persia, page 2
   Romanesco is slow to blow and more forgiving to grow than most cauliflowers, while being perhaps the most delicious and certainly the nuttiest-flavoured of the lot. 26 January 2015, Mark Diacono, “How to grow and cook cauliflower, 2015's trendiest veg”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening)

noun

1. A mass or display of flowers; a yield.
   […] for that he believed he could shew me such a blow of tulips as was not to be matched in the whole country. 1710, Joseph Addison, “From my own apartment, August 29”, in The Tatler, page 181
2. A display of anything brilliant or bright.
3. A bloom, state of flowering.
   Roses in full blow.