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.
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 larvæ 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.
Blow , v. i. [imp.
Blew (blū); p. p. Blown (blōn); p. pr. & vb. n.
Blowing.]
[OE. blawen, blowen, AS. blāwan to blow, as wind;
akin to OHG. plājan, G. blähen, 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 Æsop'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.
Blow , n. [OE.
blaw, blowe; cf. OHG. bliuwan, pliuwan, to beat, G.
bläuen, 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.
Blow , n. (Bot.) A blossom; a flower; also, a state of
blossoming; a mass of blossoms. "Such a blow of
tulips." Tatler.
Blow , v. t. To cause to blossom; to put forth (blossoms or flowers).
The odorous banks, that blow
Flowers of more mingled hue.
Milton.
Blow (blō), v. i. [imp.
Blew (blū); p. p. Blown (blōn); p. pr. & vb. n.
Blowing.]
[OE. blowen, AS. blōwan to blossom; akin to OS.
blōjan, D.
bloeijen, OHG. pluojan, MHG. blüejen, G. blühen, L. florere to flourish, OIr. blath blossom. Cf. Blow to puff, Flourish.] To flower; to blossom; to bloom.
How blows the citron grove.
Milton.
Hear it pronounced