blow¹ /blō/

1. To produce a current of air
2. (of air or wind) to move (often impers)
3. To be carried along by air, etc
4. To breathe hard
5. (of a whistle or other signal, or a brass instrument) to sound
6. To take part in a jazz session
7. To spout, as whales do
8. To boast
9. To act as an informer (slang)
10. (of insects) to deposit eggs
11. To explode, collapse (often with up, down, in, etc)
12. Of an electric fuse, to melt (also transitive verb)
13. To depart, esp hurriedly (slang)

1. To force air on or into
2. To force air down (one's nose) in order to clear it
3. To shape (glass, etc) by blowing air into it
4. To make (air, etc) move
5. To drive by a current of air
6. To sound (eg a brass instrument)
7. To destroy or force by explosive
8. To spread by report
9. To inform on
10. To fan or kindle
11. (of insects) to deposit eggs on
12. (in imprecations) to curse, confound, blast (usu with me, it)
13. To squander (slang)
14. To fail to succeed with or in when one has the chance (slang; usu with it)
15. To depart from, esp hurriedly (slang)
16. To perform fellatio on (slang)

1. A blast
2. A breath of fresh air
3. An insect egg
4. Cannabis (Brit sl)
5. Cocaine (US sl)

blowˈer noun

1. A person who blows
2. A mechanical device for producing a blast of air, etc
3. An escape of gas through a crack (mining)
4. A speaking tube, telephone, or similar means of sending messages (informal)
5. A communication system (informal)

blowˈie noun (Aust and NZ inf)

A blowfly

blown adjective

1. Out of breath, tired
2. Swelled
3. Stale, worthless

blowˈy adjective

1. Windy
2. Gusty

blowˈback noun

1. Backward pressure of gases, eg in a boiler, engine or firearm
2. Repercussions or consequences of an action (figurative)

blowˈball noun

The downy head of a dandelion in seed

blowˈdown noun

An accident in a nuclear reactor

blowˈ-dry transitive verb

To arrange (hair) by simultaneously brushing and drying it with a hand-held hairdryer

noun

An instance of this

blowˈ-dryer noun

blowˈfish noun

Any globe fish

blowˈfly noun

1. A flesh-fly (genus Sarcophaga)
2. A bluebottle (genus Calliphora)

blowˈgun noun

A blowpipe (weapon)

blowˈhard noun

A boastful person (also adjective)

blowˈhole noun

1. A whale's nostril
2. A hole in ice to which seals, etc come to breathe
3. A vent for escape of gas, etc
4. A bubble in metal
5. A natural vent from the roof of a cave up to the ground surface, through which air and water are forced by rising tides

blowˈ-in noun (chiefly Aust informal)

A recent arrival, newcomer

blowˈjob noun (slang)

An act of fellatio

blowˈlamp noun

A portable lamp producing a jet of very hot flame

blowˈ-moulding noun

A process used in manufacturing plastic objects, the molten thermoplastic being blown against the sides of the mould

blowˈ-off see blow off below.

blowˈ-out noun

1. A lavish meal or entertainment (slang)
2. A tyre-burst (informal)
3. A violent escape of oil and gas from an oil well

blow-out preventer noun

A stack of heavy-duty valves fitted in the wellhead of an oil well to prevent blow-outs

blowˈpipe noun

1. A pipe through which air is blown onto a flame, to increase its heat, used in blowpipe analysis, etc
2. A long straight tube from which an arrow, pellet, etc is blown by the breath
3. A glass-blower's tube

blowˈtorch noun (N American)

A blowlamp

blowˈ-up noun

1. An explosion
2. An enlargement of (part of) a photograph, illustration, etc

adjective

Inflatable

blowˈ-valve noun

A snifting-valve

blow away (slang)

1. To kill, murder
2. To surprise or excite
3. To disprove (a theory, etc)

blow a well (mining)

Temporarily to remove pressure at a wellhead to allow tubings and casings to be blown free of debris, water, etc

blow hot and cold

To be favourable and unfavourable by turns, to be irresolute

blow in

To turn up unexpectedly

blow off

1. To allow (steam, etc) to escape
2. (of steam, etc) to escape forcibly
3. To break wind from the anus (informal)
4. To fail to keep an appointment (with; informal) (blow-off noun and adjective)

blow on or upon

1. To take the bloom, freshness, or the interest off
2. To bring into discredit
3. To inform upon

blow one's (or someone's) mind (slang)

To go (or cause to go) into a state of ecstasy under the influence of a drug or of an exhilarating experience

blow one's stack or top (informal)

To explode in anger

blow out

1. To extinguish by blowing
2. To become extinguished
3. To force outwards by an explosion
4. (of a tyre) to burst suddenly (informal)
5. (of an oil well) to emit an uncontrolled jet of oil and gas
6. To fail to keep an appointment with (someone) (informal)

blow over

To pass away or die down, as a storm, a danger or a scandal

blow (someone's or) one's brains out (informal)

To kill (someone or) oneself by shooting (him or her or) oneself in the head

blow someone's cover (informal)

To reveal someone's identity

blow the whistle on (informal)

1. To inform on (a person)
2. To expose (an illegal practice, etc)

blow up

1. To come suddenly into prominence
2. To destroy by explosion
3. To explode
4. To finish in disaster
5. To inflate (lit and figurative)
6. To scold
7. To lose one's temper
8. To enlarge (eg an illustration)
9. To go to pieces (US sl)

blow upon see blow on above.

blow² /blō/

1. A firm stroke or knock, esp with the fist or a striking tool
2. A sudden misfortune or calamity

blowˈ-by-blow adjective

(of a story or description) very detailed

at a blow

By a single action, suddenly

come to blows

(of people quarrelling) to start fighting

blow³ /blō/

To bloom or blossom

To put forth (eg flowers)

1. Blossom, bloom
2. A display of blossom

• burned up
• burner
• burners
• burnet
• burnet-leaved rose
• burnet moth
• burnet moths
• burnet rose
• burnet roses
• burnets
• burnet saxifrage
• burnet saxifrages
• burnettise
• burnettised
• burnettises
• burnettising
• burnettize
• burnettized
• burnettizes
• burnettizing
• Burnett salmon
• burn in
• burn-in
• burn in effigy
• burning