blow

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   forceful exhalation through the nose or mouth

   They gave their nose a loud blow.

2. 2
   noun

   a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon

   a blow on the head

3. 3
   noun

   an impact, as from a collision

   The boxer suffered heavy blows to the face before being knocked unconscious.

4. 4
   verb

   to exhale hard

   I suggested they blow on the soup to cool it down.

5. 5
   verb

   to free of obstruction by blowing air through

   I had to blow my nose.

6. 6
   verb

   to melt, break, or become otherwise unusable

   The tire blew.

7. 7
   verb

   to shape by blowing

   I blow glass.

8. 8
   verb

   to cause to be revealed and jeopardized

   You blew our cover.

Etymology

From Middle English blowen, from Old English blāwan (“to blow, breathe, inflate, sound”), from Proto-West Germanic *blāan, from Proto-Germanic *blēaną (“to blow”) (compare German blähen), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- (“to swell, blow up”) (compare Latin flō (“to blow”) and Old Armenian բեղուն (bełun, “fertile”)).