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<HTML> <HEAD><TITLE>DICTIONARY: blow - blowhole</TITLE></HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff"> <A HREF="a.dic">A</A> <A HREF="b.dic">B</A> <A HREF="c.dic">C</A> <A HREF="d.dic">D</A> <A HREF="e.dic">E</A> <A HREF="f.dic">F</A> <A HREF="g.dic">G</A> <A HREF="h.dic">H</A> <A HREF="i.dic">I</A> <A HREF="j.dic">J</A> <A HREF="k.dic">K</A> <A HREF="l.dic">L</A> <A HREF="m.dic">M</A> <A HREF="n.dic">N</A> <A HREF="o.dic">O</A> <A HREF="p.dic">P</A> <A HREF="q.dic">Q</A> <A HREF="r.dic">R</A> <A HREF="s.dic">S</A> <A HREF="t.dic">T</A> <A HREF="u.dic">U</A> <A HREF="v.dic">V</A> <A HREF="w.dic">W</A> <A HREF="x.dic">X</A> <A HREF="y.dic">Y</A> <A HREF="z.dic">Z</A> <A NAME="blow"> blow (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a hard hit; knock; stroke. Ex. The boxer struck his opponent a blow that knocked him down. <DD> 2. a sudden happening that causes misfortune or loss; severe shock. Ex. His mother's death was a great blow to him. (SYN) calamity, disaster, misfortune. <DD> 3. a sudden attack or assault. Ex. The army struck a swift blow at the enemy. expr. at one blow, by one act or effort. Ex. What it is at one blow to be deserted by a lovely and fascinating creature (Dickens). expr. come to blows, to start fighting. Ex. After a few harsh words the two boys came to blows. expr. strike a blow, <DD> a. to hit. Ex. to strike a blow in self-defense. <DD> b. to cause a setback; inflict harm. Ex. Syria strikes a blow at itself (Manchester Guardian Weekly). <DD> c. to make an effort to accomplish; advance the cause of. Ex. to strike a blow for freedom. </DL> <A NAME="blow"> blow (2), verb, blew, blown, blowing, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD>v.i. 1. to send forth a strong current of air. Ex. Blow on the fire or it will goout. <DD> 2. to move rapidly or with power; move in a current. Ex. The wind blows in gusts. <DD> 3. to be driven or carried by a current of air; move before the wind. Ex. Dust blew across the road. <DD> 4. to make a sound by a current of air or steam. Ex. The whistle blows at noon. Blow, ye bright angels, on your golden trumpets (Longfellow). (SYN) sound. <DD> 5. to be out of breath. (SYN) pant, puff. <DD> 6. (Informal, Figurative.) to boast; brag. <DD> 7. to melt. Ex. A short circuit caused the fuse to blow. <DD> 8. to spout a column of hot, moist air from the blowholes, before taking in fresh air. Ex. "There she blows!" was the sailor's cry when he spotted the whale. <DD> 9. (Slang.) to go away. <DD> 10. (Slang, Figurative.) <DD> a. to explode. Ex. Something was bound to blow in that tense situation. <DD> b. to get very angry; blow up. <DD>v.t. 1. to drive or carry by a current of air. Ex. The wind blew the curtains. She blew a kiss to her mother. <DD> 2. to force a current of air into, through, or against. Ex. to blow the fire into flame. He blew a whiff from his pipe. <DD> 3. to empty or clear by forcing air through. Ex. The mechanic blew the gas line in our car. <DD> 4a. to form or shape by air. Ex. to blow glass. <DD> b. to swell with air. Ex. to blow bubbles. (SYN) inflate. <DD> c. (Figurative.) to puff up. Ex. blown with pride. <DD> 5. to cause to make a sound by a current of air or steam. Ex. Blow the whistle. <DD> 6. to break by an explosion; blow up, open, etc.. Ex. The dynamite blew the wall to bits. (SYN) shatter. <DD> 7. to melt. Ex. A short circuit will blow a fuse. <DD> 8. to allow (steam or the like) to escape forcibly with a blowing noise. <DD> 9. to cause to pant; put out of breath. Ex. He blew his horse by riding him hard. <DD> 10. (of insects) to lay eggs in. Ex. Some flies blow fruit. <DD> 11. (Figurative.) to publish or spread (news, rumors, or the like). Ex. A rumour wildly blown about (Tennyson). <DD> 12. (U.S. Slang, Figurative.) <DD> a. to spend (money) recklessly. (SYN) squander. <DD> b. to spend money on (oneself or another). Ex. I'll blow you to dinner tonight. (SYN) treat. <DD> 13. (Slang.) <DD> a. to make a mess of; botch; muff. Ex. The golfer blew a two-foot putt. The actress blew her lines. <DD> b. to waste or throw away. Ex. The baseball club blew a three-run lead. <DD> 14. (Slang.) to play (a musical instrument). Ex. "Oscar blows fine piano," said Kenton (New Yorker). <DD> 15. (Slang.) to smoke (marijuana). <DD>noun 1. the act or fact of forcing air upon, into, through, or against something; blast; blowing. <DD> 2. a gale of wind. Ex. Last night's big blow brought down several trees. <DD> 3. a blowing of a wind instrument; blast. <DD> 4. (Figurative.) a boast; boasting. <DD> 5a. a single operation, or blast, converting a quantity of iron into steel by the Bessemer process. <DD> b. the time during which a blast is continued. <DD> c. the quantity of steel involved or made in a single operation. expr. blow away, (U.S. Slang.) to kill or destroy. Ex. Like a pack of wolves ... they are looking for somebody to blow away (Time). expr. blow hot and cold, to alternate from a favorable opinion to an unfavorable one; be changeable. Ex. He blows hot and cold about his job. expr. blow in, (Slang.) to appear unexpectedly; drop in. Ex. He blow in on his way to Chicago. expr. blow into, (Slang.) to appear unexpectedly in. Ex. He blew into town. expr. blow off, <DD> a. to get rid of (steam, energy, or the like) noisily or violently. Ex. ... blowing off their superfluous energy in singing and shouting (Christian Commonwealth). <DD> b. (of steam or the like) to escape noisily or violently. Ex. Carburetted gas ... is liable to blow off and endanger the lives of hundreds of persons (W. S. Jevons). <DD> c. (Figurative.) to use up energy, especially excess energy. Ex. He blew off a lot of steam about excess taxes. expr. blow on, (British Informal.) to penalize. Ex. the umpires blew on one player, and from the resulting 40-yard penalty Neville scored the winning goal (London Times). expr. blow one's mind. See under mind (1). expr. blow out, <DD> a. to put out or be put out by a current of air. Ex. He blew out the candle. The candle blew out. <DD> b. to suffer a blowout. Ex. The worn tire blew out. <DD> c. to have or cause a blowout in. Ex. The impact blew out both front tires. expr. blow over, <DD> a. to pass by or over; cease; subside. Ex. The storm has blown over. <DD> b. (Figurative.) to be forgotten. Ex. In time the scandal blew over. expr. blow up, <DD> a. to explode. Ex. The ammunition ship blew up and sank when it hit the rocks. <DD> b. to fill with air; inflate. Ex. to blow up a bicycle tire. <DD> c. (Informal.) to lose one's temper; become very angry. Ex. The harassed commuter suddenly blew up and began to scream at the conductor. <DD> d. to become stronger; arise. Ex. A storm blew up suddenly. <DD> e. to enlarge (a photograph). Ex. By blowing up the picture, he could point out many details. </DL> <A NAME="blow"> blow (3), noun, verb, blew, blown, blowing.<DL COMPACT><DD>noun 1. a state of blossoming; bloom. <DD> 2. a display of blossoms. <DD>v.i. to blossom; bloom. </DL> <A NAME="blowback"> blowback, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a backward draft or air current. <DD> 2. escape of gases formed during the firing of a weapon to the rear and under pressure. <DD> 3. the recoil of a bolt in a firearm. </DL> <A NAME="blowball"> blowball, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the downy head of the dandelion or salsify. </DL> <A NAME="blowby"> blowby, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> leakage of fuel, vapor, or pressure, between the piston and cylinder of an automobile. </DL> <A NAME="blowbyblow"> blow-by-blow, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> described minutely; including every detail. Ex. The newspapers gave a blow-by-blow account of the trial. </DL> <A NAME="blowdown"> blowdown, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> rupture of a cooling pipe in a nuclear reactor, especially in a power plant. Ex. In nuclear parlance, "blowdown" is synonymous with catastrophe, as it signifies loss of coolant with the nuclear reactor continuing to produce heat with nothing to carry it away (New Scientist). </DL> <A NAME="blowdry"> blow-dry, verb, -dried, -drying, noun, pl. -dries.<DL COMPACT><DD>v.t. 1. to dry or style (hair) with a blow dryer. <DD> 2. to blow-dry the hair of. <DD>noun the act or process of blow-drying the hair. </DL> <A NAME="blowdryer"> blow dryer,<DL COMPACT><DD> a portable electric blower for drying and styling the hair. Ex. Using a blow dryer has become a unisex morning ritual. The results are natural and uncontrived--though not unstyled (Consumer Reports). </DL> <A NAME="blower"> blower, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a person or thing that blows. Ex. a glass blower. <DD> 2. a fan or other machine for forcing air into a building, furnace, mine, or other enclosed area. <DD> 3. (British Slang.) telephone. </DL> <A NAME="blowfish"> blowfish, noun, pl. -fishes or (collectively) -fish.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a puffer or other fish that can inflate its body. <DD> 2. (U.S. Dialect.) =walleyed pike. </DL> <A NAME="blowfly"> blowfly, noun, pl. -flies.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various two-winged flies that deposit their eggs on meat or in wounds or fruit. </DL> <A NAME="blowgun"> blowgun, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a tube through which a person blows arrows, darts, or other missiles; blowpipe. <DD> 2. =peashooter. Also, blowtube. </DL> <A NAME="blowhard"> blowhard, noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Slang.) <DD>noun a noisy boaster; braggart. <DD>adj. noisily bragging: ... a blowhard rookie (Time). </DL> <A NAME="blowhole"> blowhole, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a hole for breathing, in the top of the head of whales, porpoises, and dolphins. <DD> 2. a hole in the ice to which whales, seals, and walruses come to breathe. <DD> 3. a hole through which air or gas escapes or can escape. <DD> 4. a defect in a metal casting due to a bubble of air or gas. <DD> 5. a defect; flaw. </DL> <A HREF="blowing.dic">NEXT</A>