a sudden, hard stroke with a hand, fist, or weapon: a blow to the head.
a sudden shock, calamity, reversal, etc.: His wife's death was a terrible blow to him.
a sudden attack or drastic action: The invaders struck a blow to the south.
Idioms for blow
at one blow, with a single act: He became wealthy and famous at one blow.Also at a blow.
come to blows, to begin to fight, especially to engage in physical combat: They came to blows over the referee's ruling.
strike a blow, to hit.
strike a blow for, to further or advance the cause of: to strike a blow for civil rights.
without striking a blow, without a battle or contest: The military coup was accomplished without striking a blow.
Origin of blow
1
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English blaw, northern and Scottish form representing later blowe; akin to Old High German bliuwan, Gothic bliggwan “to beat”
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.
to move along, carried by or as by the wind: Dust seemed to blow through every crack in the house.
to produce or emit a current of air, as with the mouth or a bellows: Blow on your hands to warm them.
(of a horn, trumpet, etc.) to give out sound.
to make a blowing sound; whistle: The siren blew just as we rounded the corner.
(of horses) to breathe hard or quickly; pant.
Zoology. (of a whale) to spout.
(of a fuse, light bulb, vacuum tube, tire, etc.) to burst, melt, stop functioning, or be destroyed by exploding, overloading, etc. (often followed by out): A fuse blew just as we sat down to dinner. The rear tire blew out.
to burst from internal pressure: Poorly sealed cans will often blow.
Slang. to leave; depart.
Slang: Vulgar. to perform fellatio on a man.
Slang. to be unpleasant or unfortunate: He’s so broke that he has to move back in with his parents, which totally blows.
Slang. to be inferior, as in quality or execution: The vacation package blew so bad that everyone is asking the resort for a refund.
Informal. to boast; brag: He kept blowing about his medals.
verb (used with object),blew,blown,blow·ing.
to drive by means of a current of air: A sudden breeze blew the smoke into the house.
to spread or make widely known: Growing panic blew the rumor about.
to drive a current of air upon.
to clear or empty by forcing air through: Try blowing your nose.
to shape (glass, smoke, etc.) with a current of air: to blow smoke rings.
to cause to sound, as by a current of air: Blow your horn at the next crossing.
Jazz. to play (a musical instrument of any kind).
to cause to explode (often followed by up, to bits, etc.): A mine blew the ship to bits.
to burst, melt, burn out, or destroy by exploding, overloading, etc. (often followed by out): to blow a tire; blow a fuse.
to destroy; demolish (usually followed by down, over, etc.): The windstorm blew down his house.
Informal.
to spend money on.
to squander; spend quickly: He blew a fortune on racing cars.
to waste; lose: The team blew the lead by making a bad play.
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!
to put (a horse) out of breath by fatigue.
Slang. to depart from: to blow town.
Slang: Vulgar. to perform fellatio on: She was blowing strangers for money to support her drug habit. Blow me!
Slang. to smoke (marijuana or other drugs).
Slang. to damn: Blow the cost!
noun
a blast of air or wind: to clean machinery with a blow.
Informal. a violent windstorm, gale, hurricane, or the like: one of the worst blows we ever had around here.
an act of producing a blast of air, as in playing a wind instrument: a few discordant blows by the bugler.
Slang. cocaine.
Metallurgy.
a blast of air forced through a converter, as in the production of steel or copper.
the stage of the production process during which this blast is used.
Civil Engineering. boil1 (def. 12).
Verb Phrases
blow away,Slang.
to kill, especially by gunfire: The gang threatened to blow away anyone who talked to the police.
to defeat decisively; trounce: She blew her opponent away in three straight sets.
to overwhelm with emotion, astonishment, etc.: Good poetry just blows me away.
blow down,Metallurgy. to suspend working of (a blast furnace) by smelting the existing charge with a diminishing blast.
blow in,
Slang.to arrive at a place, especially unexpectedly: My uncle just blew in from Sacramento.
Metallurgy.to begin operations in (a blast furnace).
blow off,
to allow steam to be released.
Informal.to reduce or release tension, as by loud talking.
Informal.to ignore, evade, or treat as unimportant: I mentioned his insulting remark, and he just blew the whole thing off.
Informal.to not go to or participate in: He blew off his first-period class three times that week.
Informal.to fail to meet (someone) as planned without alerting the person beforehand: I waited 20 minutes before I realized my sister had blown me off.
Informal.to end a romantic or other relationship with: He blew me off after our third date.
blow out,
to become extinguished: The candles blew out at once.
to lose force or cease: The storm has blown itself out.
(of an oil or gas well) to lose oil or gas uncontrollably.
Metallurgy.to blow down and clean (a blast furnace) in order to shut down.
blow over,
to pass away; subside: The storm blew over in five minutes.
to be forgotten: The scandal will eventually blow over.
blow up,
to come into being: A storm suddenly blew up.
to explode: The ship blew up.
to cause to explode: to blow up a bridge.
to exaggerate; enlarge: He blew up his own role in his account of the project.
Informal.to lose one's temper: When he heard she had quit school, he blew up.
to fill with air; inflate: to blow up a tire.
Slang.to surge in interest or popularity, or suddenly achieve great success: She’s a big celebrity now—her YouTube channel is blowing up.
Slang.(of a story, image, etc.) to dominate (the media) or be spread rapidly or widely on (the internet or a website): The scandal has been blowing up the national news reports. His offensive comments blew up Twitter.
Slang.to repeatedly call or send a high volume of continuous text messages or emails to (a digital account): This girl was blowing up my phone with her annoying texts.
Slang.to have a surge in text messages, emails, phone calls, etc.: My inbox blew up right after I posted the photo. Her phone was blowing up with concerned calls from family and friends.
Photography.to make an enlarged reproduction of.
Mathematics.(of a function) to become infinite.
Origin of blow
2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb blowen, Old English blāwan; akin to Latin flāre “to blow”
Definition for blow (3 of 3)
blow3
[ bloh ]
/ bloʊ /
noun
a yield or display of blossoms: the lilac's lavender blows.
a display of anything bright or brilliant: a rich, full blow of color.
state of blossoming; a flowering: a border of tulips in full blow.
verb (used with or without object),blew,blown,blow·ing.
Archaic. to blossom or cause to blossom.
Origin of blow
3
First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb blowen, Old English blōwan; akin to German blühen “to bloom,” Latin flōs flower
In turn, that has served as a major blow to the women selling khat, says Sahra Ahmed Koshin, a doctoral candidate at the University of Copenhagen studying the Somali diaspora who has tracked the lives of several female khat dealers.
How the Pandemic Is Saving Lives in the Horn of Africa|Eromo Egbejule|September 3, 2020|Ozy
As a teenager, he had a glancing blow of viral attention when he auditioned for America’s Got Talent, but it was TikTok that provided sustained views and attention.
TikTok made him famous. Now he’s imagining a world without it|Abby Ohlheiser|August 14, 2020|MIT Technology Review
“It’s like a boxer in the ring taking a lot of punches and you’re just waiting for the knockout blow,” said independent media analyst Alex De Groote.
‘Just waiting for the knockout blow’: U.K. government’s junk food ad ban yet another hit for already battered publishers|Lara O'Reilly|July 28, 2020|Digiday
At the same time, the effective modifications allowed for adequate protection from incoming blows.
Know Your Ancient Greek Helmets: From Attic to Phrygian|Dattatreya Mandal|May 19, 2020|Realm of History
However, the distinguishing feature of the Boeotian pertained to its sloping metal rim that extended at the rear to protect the neck while also slightly projecting downwards at the front to deflect blows.
Know Your Ancient Greek Helmets: From Attic to Phrygian|Dattatreya Mandal|May 19, 2020|Realm of History
This is a blow against freedom of speech, we were told, by the likes of Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Liberal Democrats like to blow their bugles about how all the big money in politics comes from rich Republicans.
The 100 Rich People Who Run America|Mark McKinnon|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
On Friday, the story had looked like it might blow over as Buckingham Palace sought to dismiss it as a “civil case.”
Buckingham Palace Disputes Sex Allegations Against Prince ‘Randy Andy’|Tom Sykes|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It took a blow to the head from Clark and the assistance of three deputies to subdue her.
Dr. King Goes to Hollywood: The Flawed History of ‘Selma’|Gary May|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And he was indicted in Israel last week on charges he plotted to blow up sites holy to Islam.
The Strange Case of the Christian Zionist Terrorist|Creede Newton|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I expected a blow for that, and tried to look as though I did not, being extremely anxious to return it with effect.
Some Persons Unknown|E. W. Hornung
You were willing to blow up this headquarters and everybody, yourself included, in it, to keep us from getting at Merlin.
The Cosmic Computer|Henry Beam Piper
What a blow this was to all her rising hopes, founded on the fact of his having shown anxiety to find them out.
Flora Adair, Vol. 1 (of 2)|A. M. Donelan
Loosing his hold upon Esther, he swiftly shifted his weapon to his other hand and brought down a blow on the boy's back.
A Dear Little Girl's Thanksgiving Holidays|Amy E. Blanchard
The knife was uplifted as the mate felt the grip of the man upon his collar, but the blow was not struck.
Ralph Granger's Fortunes|William Perry Brown
British Dictionary definitions for blow (1 of 3)
blow1
/ (bləʊ) /
verbblows, blowing, bleworblown
(of a current of air, the wind, etc) to be or cause to be in motion
(intr)to move or be carried by or as if by wind or aira feather blew in through the window
to expel (air, cigarette smoke, etc) through the mouth or nose
to force or cause (air, dust, etc) to move (into, in, over, etc) by using an instrument or by expelling breath
(intr)to breathe hard; pant
(sometimes foll by up)to inflate with air or the breath
(intr)(of wind, a storm, etc) to make a roaring or whistling sound
to cause (a whistle, siren, etc) to sound by forcing air into it, as a signal, or (of a whistle, etc) to sound thus
(tr)to force air from the lungs through (the nose) to clear out mucus or obstructing matter
(often foll by up, down, in, etc) to explode, break, or disintegrate completelythe bridge blew down in the gale
electronicsto burn out (a fuse, valve, etc) because of excessive current or (of a fuse, valve, etc) to burn out
blow a fuseslangto lose one's temper
(intr)(of a whale) to spout water or air from the lungs
(tr)to wind (a horse) by making it run excessively
to cause (a wind instrument) to sound by forcing one's breath into the mouthpiece, or (of such an instrument) to sound in this way
(intr)jazzslangto play in a jam session
(intr)(of flies) to lay eggs (in)
to shape (glass, ornaments, etc) by forcing air or gas through the material when molten
(intr)mainlyScot, Australian and NZto boast or brag
(tr)slang
to spend (money) freely
USto treat or entertain
(tr)slangto use (an opportunity) ineffectively
slangto go suddenly away (from)
(tr)slangto expose or betray (a person or thing meant to be kept secret)
(tr)USslangto inhale (a drug)
(intr)slangto masturbate
past participleblowedinformal another word for damn I'll be blowed; blow it!
draughts another word for huff (def. 4)
blow hot and coldto vacillate
blow a kissorblow kissesto kiss one's hand, then blow across it as if to carry the kiss through the air to another person
blow one's own trumpetto boast of one's own skills or good qualities
blow someone's mindslang
(of a drug, esp LSD) to alter someone's mental state