Hypertext Webster Gateway: "blow"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Blow \Blow\, v. t.
To cause to blossom; to put forth (blossoms or flowers).

The odorous banks, that blow Flowers of more mingled
hue. --Milton.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Blow \Blow\, n. (Bot.)
A blossom; a flower; also, a state of blossoming; a mass of
blossoms. ``Such a blow of tulips.'' --Tatler.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Blow \Blow\, n. [OE. blaw, blowe; cf. OHG. bliuwan, pliuwan, to
beat, G. bl["a]uen, Goth. bliggwan.]
1. A forcible stroke with the hand, fist, or some instrument,
as a rod, a club, an ax, or a sword.

Well struck ! there was blow for blow. --Shak.

2. A sudden or forcible act or effort; an assault.

A vigorous blow might win [Hanno's camp]. --T.
Arnold.

3. The infliction of evil; a sudden calamity; something which
produces mental, physical, or financial suffering or loss
(esp. when sudden); a buffet.

A most poor man, made tame to fortune's blows.
--Shak.

{At a blow}, suddenly; at one effort; by a single vigorous
act. ``They lose a province at a blow.'' --Dryden.

{To come to blows}, to engage in combat; to fight; -- said of
individuals, armies, and nations.

Syn: Stroke; knock; shock; misfortune.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Blow \Blow\ (bl[=o]), v. i. [imp. {Blew} (bl[=u]); p. p. {Blown}
(bl[=o]n); p. pr. & vb. n. {Blowing}.] [OE. blowen, AS.
bl[=o]wan to blossom; akin to OS. bl[=o]jan, D. bloeijen,
OHG. pluojan, MHG. bl["u]ejen, G. bl["u]hen, L. florere to
flourish, OIr. blath blossom. Cf. {Blow} to puff,
{Flourish}.]
To flower; to blossom; to bloom.

How blows the citron grove. --Milton.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Blow \Blow\, v. i. [imp. {Blew} (bl[=u]); p. p. {Blown}
(bl[=o]n); p. pr. & vb. n. {Blowing}.] [OE. blawen, blowen,
AS. bl[=a]wan to blow, as wind; akin to OHG. pl[=a]jan, G.
bl["a]hen, to blow up, swell, L. flare to blow, Gr.
'ekflai`nein to spout out, and to E. bladder, blast, inflate,
etc., and perh. blow to bloom.]
1. To produce a current of air; to move, as air, esp. to move
rapidly or with power; as, the wind blows.

Hark how it rains and blows ! --Walton.

2. To send forth a forcible current of air, as from the mouth
or from a pair of bellows.

3. To breathe hard or quick; to pant; to puff.

Here is Mistress Page at the door, sweating and
blowing. --Shak.

4. To sound on being blown into, as a trumpet.

There let the pealing organ blow. --Milton.

5. To spout water, etc., from the blowholes, as a whale.

6. To be carried or moved by the wind; as, the dust blows in
from the street.

The grass blows from their graves to thy own. --M.
Arnold.

7. To talk loudly; to boast; to storm. [Colloq.]

You blow behind my back, but dare not say anything
to my face. --Bartlett.

{To blow hot and cold} (a saying derived from a fable of
[AE]sop's), to favor a thing at one time and treat it
coldly at another; or to appear both to favor and to
oppose.

{To blow off}, to let steam escape through a passage provided
for the purpose; as, the engine or steamer is blowing off.


{To blow out}.
(a) To be driven out by the expansive force of a gas or
vapor; as, a steam cock or valve sometimes blows out.
(b) To talk violently or abusively. [Low]

{To blow over}, to pass away without effect; to cease, or be
dissipated; as, the storm and the clouds have blown over.


{To blow up}, to be torn to pieces and thrown into the air as
by an explosion of powder or gas or the expansive force of
steam; to burst; to explode; as, a powder mill or steam
boiler blows up. ``The enemy's magazines blew up.''
--Tatler.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Blow \Blow\, v. t.
1. To force a current of air upon with the mouth, or by other
means; as, to blow the fire.

2. To drive by a current air; to impel; as, the tempest blew
the ship ashore.

Off at sea northeast winds blow Sabean odors from
the spicy shore. --Milton.

3. To cause air to pass through by the action of the mouth,
or otherwise; to cause to sound, as a wind instrument; as,
to blow a trumpet; to blow an organ.

Hath she no husband That will take pains to blow a
horn before her? --Shak.

Boy, blow the pipe until the bubble rise, Then cast
it off to float upon the skies. --Parnell.

4. To clear of contents by forcing air through; as, to blow
an egg; to blow one's nose.

5. To burst, shatter, or destroy by an explosion; -- usually
with up, down, open, or similar adverb; as, to blow up a
building.

6. To spread by report; to publish; to disclose.

Through the court his courtesy was blown. --Dryden.

His language does his knowledge blow. --Whiting.

7. To form by inflation; to swell by injecting air; as, to
blow bubbles; to blow glass.

8. To inflate, as with pride; to puff up.

Look how imagination blows him. --Shak.

9. To put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue; as,
to blow a horse. --Sir W. Scott.

10. To deposit eggs or larv[ae] upon, or in (meat, etc.).

To suffer The flesh fly blow my mouth. --Shak.

{To blow great guns}, to blow furiously and with roaring
blasts; -- said of the wind at sea or along the coast.

{To blow off}, to empty (a boiler) of water through the
blow-off pipe, while under steam pressure; also, to eject
(steam, water, sediment, etc.) from a boiler.

{To blow one's own trumpet}, to vaunt one's own exploits, or
sound one's own praises.

{To blow out}, to extinguish by a current of air, as a
candle.

{To blow up}.
(a) To fill with air; to swell; as, to blow up a bladder
or bubble.
(b) To inflate, as with pride, self-conceit, etc.; to
puff up; as, to blow one up with flattery. ``Blown up
with high conceits engendering pride.'' --Milton.
(c) To excite; as, to blow up a contention.
(d) To burst, to raise into the air, or to scatter, by an
explosion; as, to blow up a fort.
(e) To scold violently; as, to blow up a person for some
offense. [Colloq.]

I have blown him up well -- nobody can say I
wink at what he does. --G. Eliot.

{To blow upon}.
(a) To blast; to taint; to bring into discredit; to
render stale, unsavory, or worthless.
(b) To inform against. [Colloq.]

How far the very custom of hearing anything
spouted withers and blows upon a fine passage,
may be seen in those speeches from
[Shakespeare's] Henry V. which are current in
the mouths of schoolboys. --C. Lamb.

A lady's maid whose character had been blown
upon. --Macaulay.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Blow \Blow\, n.
1. A blowing, esp., a violent blowing of the wind; a gale;
as, a heavy blow came on, and the ship put back to port.

2. The act of forcing air from the mouth, or through or from
some instrument; as, to give a hard blow on a whistle or
horn; to give the fire a blow with the bellows.

3. The spouting of a whale.

4. (Metal.) A single heat or operation of the Bessemer
converter. --Raymond.

5. An egg, or a larva, deposited by a fly on or in flesh, or
the act of depositing it. --Chapman.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

blow
n 1: a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon; "a blow on the
head"
2: an impact (as from a collision); "the bump threw him off the
bicycle" [syn: {bump}]
3: an unfortunate happening that hinders of impedes; something
that is thwarting or frustrating [syn: {reverse}, {reversal},
{setback}]
4: an unpleasant or disappointing surprise; "it came as a shock
to learn that he was injured" [syn: {shock}]
5: a strong current of air; "the tree was bent almost double by
the gust" [syn: {gust}, {blast}]
6: forceful exhalation through the nose or mouth; "he gave his
nose a loud blow"; "he blew out all the candles with a
single puff" [syn: {puff}]
v 1: exhale hard; "blow on the soup to cool it down"
2: be blowing or storming; "The wind blew from the West."
3: free of obstruction by blowing air through: "blow one's
nose"
4: be in motion due to some air or water current; "The leaves
were blowing in the wind"; "the boat drifted on the lake";
"The sailboat was adrift on the open sea"; "the
shipwrecked boat drifted away from the shore" [syn: {float},
{drift}, {be adrift}]
5: make a sound as if blown; "The whistle blew"
6: shape by blowing; "Blow a glass vase"
7: make a mess of, destroy or ruin [syn: {botch}, {bumble}, {fumble},
{botch up}, {muff}, {flub}, {screw up}, {ball up}, {spoil},
{muck up}, {bungle}, {fluff}, {bollix}, {bollix up}, {bollocks},
{bollocks up}, {bobble}, {mishandle}, {louse up}, {foul
up}, {mess up}, {fuck up}]
8: spend thoughtlessly; throw away; "He wasted his inheritance
on his insincere friends" [syn: {waste}, {squander}] [ant:
{conserve}]
9: spend lavishly or wastefully on; "He blew a lot of money on
his new home theater" [syn: {squander}] [ant: {save}]
10: sound by having air expelled through a tube; "The trumpets
blew"
11: play or sound a wind instrument; "She blew the horn"
12: provide sexual gratification through oral stimulation [syn:
{fellate}, {go down on}]
13: cause air to go in, on, or through: "Blow my hair dry"
14: cause to move by means of an air current; "The wind blew the
leaves around in the yard"
15: spout moist air from the blowhole, as of some marine
mammals; "The whales blew"
16: leave; informal or rude: "shove off!"; "The children shoved
along"; "Blow now!" [syn: {shove off}, {shove along}]
17: lay eggs; of certain insects
18: cause to be revealed and jeopardized; "The story blew their
cover"; "The double agent was blown by the other side"
19: show off [syn: {boast}, {tout}, {swash}, {shoot a line}, {brag},
{gas}, {bluster}, {vaunt}, {gasconade}]
20: allow to regain its breath; "blow a horse"
21: melt, break, or become otherwise unusable; "The lightbulbs
blew out"; "The fuse blew" [syn: {blow out}, {burn out}]
22: burst suddenly; "The tire blew"; "We blew a tire"


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