From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishblowblow1 /bləʊ $ bloʊ/ ●●● S2 W3 verb (past tense blew /bluː/, past participle blown /bləʊn $ bloʊn/) 1 wind moving [intransitive, transitive]WIND MOVINGDN if the wind or a current of air blows, it moves A cold breeze was blowing hard. It was blowing from an easterly direction. Outside, the weather was blowing a gale.2 wind moving somethingWIND MOVING something [intransitive, transitive usually + adverb/preposition]DN to move, or to move something, by the force of the wind or a current of air Her hair was blowing in the breeze. The wind blew the rain into our faces. My ticket blew away.blow (something) open/shut A sudden draught blew the door shut.3 air from your mouth [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition]AIR to send air out from your mouthblow (something) into/onto/out etc She blew onto her coffee to cool it down. He blew the smoke right in my face.4 make a noise [intransitive, transitive]APM to make a sound by passing air through a whistle, horn etc The whistle blew for half time. A truck went by and blew its horn at her.5 violence [transitive always + adverb/preposition]DAMAGE to damage or destroy something violently with an explosion or by shootingblow something away/out/off something Part of his leg had been blown off.blow somebody/something to pieces/bits/smithereens A bomb like that could blow you to bits. 6 lose an opportunity [transitive] informalMISTAKE to lose a good opportunity by making a mistake or by being careless We’ve blown our chances of getting that contract. You’ve got a great future ahead of you. Don’t blow it.7 waste money [transitive] informalSPEND MONEY to spend a lot of money in a careless way, especially on one thing I blew all the money I won on a trip to Hawaii.► see thesaurus at spend8 → blow your nose9 → blow somebody a kiss10 electricity stops [intransitive, transitive]TEE if an electrical fuse blows, or a piece of electrical equipment blows a fuse, the electricity suddenly stops working because a thin wire has melted The floodlights blew a fuse.11 tyre [intransitive, transitive]TTC if a tyre blows, or if a car blows a tyre, it bursts12 make a shape [transitive]CFBREATHE to make or shape something by sending air out from your mouth The kids were blowing bubbles in the backyard.blow glass (=shape glass by blowing into it when it is very hot and soft) 13 → blow/blow me/blow it etc14 MAKE A SECRET KNOWNtell a secret [transitive] to make known something that was meant to be a secret Your coming here has blown the whole operation.blow somebody’s cover (=make known what someone’s real job or name is) It would only take one phone call to blow his cover.15 → blow somebody’s mind16 → blow your top/stack/cool17 → blow the whistle on somebody18 → blow something (up) out of (all) proportion19 → blow your own trumpet20 → blow somebody/something out of the water21 → blow hot and cold22 → blow something sky-highGrammarBlow belongs to a group of verbs where the same noun can be the subject of the verb or its object. • You can say: Someone blew a whistle. In this sentence, ‘a whistle’ is the object of blow.• You can also say: A whistle blew. In this sentence, ‘a whistle’ is the subject of blow. → blow sb↔ away → blow down → blow in → blow somebody/something ↔ off → blow out → blow over → blow up→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
blow• We blew $3000 on a trip to Barbados.• On the minus side, she'd blown a lot of money and received a couple of scares.• On one of them was Blue Mooney, his pale blond hair blown against his cheek as he skidded around the corner.• One of the tires blew and they skidded into the center divider.• They know the way that the wind is blowing, and would be only too pleased to be redeployed into another trade.• I put the balloon to my lips and blew as hard as I could.• His black hair was tousled, blown by the wind, shining strands of it across his brown forehead.• A warm breeze was blowing from the south.• The ornaments are made of blown glass.• The referee blew his whistle to start the game.• She tried to open the door to the storage-room, but twice the wind blew it out of her hands.• He thinks one of the anti-Castro group is going to blow me away.• Blow on it, Ian - the oatmeal's very hot.• The whistle blew on the old steam engine.• The scare has been blown out of proportion, said John Marchello, professor of animal science at the University of Arizona.• You're lucky you didn't blow out the whole engine.• He blew smoke rings across the table.• The wind blew so hard the bread got stale in our hands.• The wind must have blown the door shut.• She blew the feather off her sleeve.• He won £500,000 in the National Lottery, but he's already blown the lot.blowing hard• It is miserable work as the snow is now falling thickly, the wind blowing hard.• An hour later I was back, blowing hard and running with sweat, but feeling virtuous and much more relaxed.• When we reached our house, the wind was blowing hard in our faces.• It was still blowing hard north-west.blow (something) open/shut• Furthermore, its flexibility and power of movement are considerably greater, so that less power is needed to deliver a blow.• A cold breeze blew through the open door, stirring the fire so the flames shot up, flickering brightly.• This will help prevent freezing air blowing up the open ends of the waste pipes.• After 30 moves the position appeared level but Kasparov blew the situation open with a pawn sacrifice.blow (something) into/onto/out etc• She could do nothing but batten down the conversational hatches and wait until the storm blew itself out.• The morning of the third day, they woke up and saw the storm had blown itself out.• She blew smoke out, coughed, and handed him the cigarette and he took it without a word.• Minor disputes over specific issues blew up into major confrontations.• The wind blew strongly into the room.• The bullet took him right between the eyes, blowing his brains out through the back of his head.• In fact, he reportedly blew it out with a stunning, if showy, throw-out at third.blow somebody/something to pieces/bits/smithereens• Settle down with a good book, and let them blow themselves to bits.blown ... chances• He had already blown his chances and perhaps that was why he played a relaxed stroke.blowing bubbles• Why not something else equally apparently arbitrary, such as blowing bubbles, or dropping pebbles?• Grandma was blowing bubbles with us in the backyard.blowblow2 ●●○ S3 W3 noun [countable] 1 BAD EFFECT an action or event that causes difficulty or sadness for someone Joe resigned, which was a severe blow because we needed him desperately. His mother’s death was a shattering blow. The election result dealt a further blow to the party. The factory closures came as a blow to the local economy. The final blow for many firms was the government’s abolition of import duties.2 hard hitHIT a hard hit with someone’s hand, a tool, or a weapon She died from a heavy blow to the head. He struck a blow which threw her to the floor. Martin received a blow on the nose. He had been struck a glancing blow (=a blow that did not hit him directly) by the car.blow to He gave her a violent blow to the head.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say that someone gets hit or that something hits them, rather than using the noun blow: He received a blow to the head. → He got hit on the head.3 blowingBREATHE an action of blowing One big blow and the candles were out.4 → come to blows (with somebody)5 → soften/cushion the blow6 → low blow → strike a blow for somebody/something at strike1(17)COLLOCATIONSADJECTIVES/NOUN + blow a big/major/serious/heavy blowThe earthquake was a serious blow to the area’s tourism industry.a severe/terrible/awful blowThe news was a terrible blow for his family.a bitter blow (=extremely disappointing)Their defeat was a bitter blow.a cruel/devastating/crushing blow (=extremely hard to bear)Her loss came as a devastating blow to her father.a body blow (=a very serious difficulty which could cause something to fail completely)A tax on books would be a body blow for education.a mortal/fatal/death blow (=causing something to end)When he quit it dealt a mortal blow to the show.verbsbe a blowI can’t deny his leaving was a blow.deal a blow to somebody/somethingThe 1982 drought dealt a devastating blow to the country.come as a blow to somebodyHis sudden death came as a huge blow to us all.deliver a blowOpinion polls delivered a nasty blow to the Tory leader.suffer/receive a blowOur team suffered a blow when Paul was sent off the field.soften/cushion the blow (=make it easier to deal with)There are various ways to soften the blow of redundancy among staff.phrasesbe a bit of a blow British English especially spoken (=be disappointing or cause problems for you)The result was a bit of a blow for the team. Examples from the Corpus
blow• Not being allowed to return to her own country was a blow from which she never really recovered.• He had a robust self-esteem, even though this was a blow, and he needed financially to continue working.• a blow to the stomach• The Colorado river was closed, a bitter blow to rafters and kayakers who may have to wait seven years for a river use permit.• For the prosecution case to stand, it will be necessary to prove that Lenny McLean struck the fatal blow.• three heavy blows from the hammer• One jarring blow crushed it all.• One of the knife blows had punctured a lung.• His championship hopes were dealt a savage blow last night when he received a hamstring injury.• The assailant struck several blows before he was restrained.• Officer Stacey was knocked over by a sharp blow to the head.• It is a sweeping blow and only one who has seen them in action knows how tremendous it is.• He kept coming, taking ten blows for one.• Tony smiled and without moving his left knee dodged the blows, his torso jinking, neck muscles popping.• The blue rose on stubby wings, twisting acrobatically to slip the blow.• The blow proved fatal.severe blow• The failure of the Accord was also a severe blow to Mulroney and prompted opposition calls for his resignation.• This is a severe blow to the Fernandez family.• Pentrite can explode without a detonator if it receives a severe blow or strong friction.• Bank Assistants have suffered a severe blow.• Pittsburgh suffered a severe blow, however, when quarterback Neil O'Donnell broke his right leg.• Finally, the cutting of trade with the United States from 1985 was a severe blow.• This was a severe blow because we needed him desperately.heavy blow• He says that both changes will be a heavy blow for young self-employed workers.• For the beneficiaries the change would be almost imperceptible: for the losers it would be a heavy blow.• It is knocked to the ground by a heavy blow, seized by the throat or mouth and quickly suffocated.• Now think again of the wound on Hector's face - a heavy blow, a wide gash.• The repression which followed temporarily halted the labour movement and dealt the party a heavy blow.• I am not wholly barren of hope, for circumstances have been dealing the conventional wisdom a new series of heavy blows.From Longman Business Dictionaryblowblow /bləʊbloʊ/ verb (past tense blew /bluː/, past participle blown /bləʊnbloʊn/) [transitive]1informal if you blow money on something, you spend a lot of money on it, often money that you cannot affordHe blew his wages on a new stereo.2HUMAN RESOURCES blow the whistle (on somebody/something) to tell the authorities that someone in your organization is doing something illegal, dishonest, or wrongWorkers were too scared of their employers to blow the whistle on illegal working hours.→ See Verb tableOrigin blow1 Old English blawan blow2 1. (1400-1500) Origin unknown. 2. (1600-1700) → BLOW1 