Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - blow

I. [c red]VERB USES (blows, blowing, blew, blown) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. Please look at category 12 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword. 1. When a wind or breeze blows, the air moves. We woke to find a gale blowing outside. VERB: V 2. If the wind blows something somewhere or if it blows there, the wind moves it there. Strong winds blew away most of the dust... Her cap fell off in the street and blew away... The bushes and trees were blowing in the wind. VERB: V n with adv, V adv/prep, V, also V n prep 3. If you blow, you send out a stream of air from your mouth. Danny rubbed his arms and blew on his fingers to warm them... Take a deep breath and blow. VERB: V prep/adv, V 4. If you blow something somewhere, you move it by sending out a stream of air from your mouth. He picked up his mug and blew off the steam. VERB: V n with adv, also V n prep 5. If you blow bubbles or smoke rings, you make them by blowing air out of your mouth through liquid or smoke. He blew a ring of blue smoke. VERB: V n 6. When a whistle or horn blows or someone blows it, they make a sound by blowing into it. The whistle blew and the train slid forward... A guard was blowing his whistle. VERB: V, V n 7. When you blow your nose, you force air out of it through your nostrils in order to clear it. He took out a handkerchief and blew his nose. VERB: V n 8. To blow something out, off, or away means to remove or destroy it violently with an explosion. The can exploded, wrecking the kitchen and bathroom and blowing out windows... Rival gunmen blew the city to bits. VERB: V n with adv, V n prep 9. If you say that something blows an event, situation, or argument into a particular extreme state, especially an uncertain or unpleasant state, you mean that it causes it to be in that state. Someone took an inappropriate use of words on my part and tried to blow it into a major controversy. VERB: V n prep 10. If you blow a large amount of money, you spend it quickly on luxuries. (INFORMAL) My brother lent me some money and I went and blew the lot. VERB: V n 11. If you blow a chance or attempt to do something, you make a mistake which wastes the chance or causes the attempt to fail. (INFORMAL) He has almost certainly blown his chance of touring India this winter. ...the high-risk world of real estate, where one careless word could blow a whole deal... Oh you fool! You’ve blown it! VERB: V n, V n, V it 12. to blow away the cobwebs: see cobweb to blow someone’s cover: see cover to blow hot and cold: see hot to blow a kiss: see kiss to blow your top: see top to blow the whistle: see whistle see also full-blown, overblown II. [c red]NOUN USES (blows) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If someone receives a blow, they are hit with a fist or weapon. He went off to hospital after a blow to the face. N-COUNT: oft N to/on n 2. If something that happens is a blow to someone or something, it is very upsetting, disappointing, or damaging to them. That ruling comes as a blow to environmentalists... His death dealt a severe blow to the army’s morale. N-COUNT: oft N to n 3. If two people or groups come to blows, they start fighting. The representatives almost came to blows at a meeting. PHRASE: V inflects