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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Well struck ! there was blow for blow. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A sudden or forcible act or effort; an assault. [ 1913 Webster ]

A vigorous blow might win [ Hanno's camp ]. T. Arnold. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The infliction of evil; a sudden calamity; something which produces mental, physical, or financial suffering or loss (esp. when sudden); a buffet. [ 1913 Webster ]

A most poor man, made tame to fortune's blows. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Stroke; knock; shock; misfortune. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. Blew p. p. Blown 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

How blows the citron grove. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To cause to blossom; to put forth (blossoms or flowers). [ 1913 Webster ]

The odorous banks, that blow
Flowers of more mingled hue. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. Blew p. p. Blown 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hark how it rains and blows ! Walton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To send forth a forcible current of air, as from the mouth or from a pair of bellows. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To breathe hard or quick; to pant; to puff. [ 1913 Webster ]

Here is Mistress Page at the door, sweating and blowing. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To sound on being blown into, as a trumpet. [ 1913 Webster ]

There let the pealing organ blow. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To spout water, etc., from the blowholes, as a whale. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To be carried or moved by the wind; as, the dust blows in from the street. [ 1913 Webster ]

The grass blows from their graves to thy own. M. Arnold. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To talk loudly; to boast; to storm. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

You blow behind my back, but dare not say anything to my face. Bartlett. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To stop functioning due to a failure in an electrical circuit, especially on which breaks the circuit; sometimes used with out; -- used of light bulbs, electronic components, fuses; as, the dome light in the car blew out. [ PJC ]

9. To deflate by sudden loss of air; usually used with out; -- of inflatable tires. [ PJC ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To force a current of air upon with the mouth, or by other means; as, to blow the fire. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To drive by a current air; to impel; as, the tempest blew the ship ashore. [ 1913 Webster ]

Off at sea northeast winds blow
Sabean odors from the spicy shore. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

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; to blow a horn. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hath she no husband
That will take pains to blow a horn before her? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Boy, blow the pipe until the bubble rise,
Then cast it off to float upon the skies. Parnell. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To clear of contents by forcing air through; as, to blow an egg; to blow one's nose. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To burst, shatter, or destroy by an explosion; -- usually with up, down, open, or similar adverb; as, to blow up a building. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To spread by report; to publish; to disclose; to reveal, intentionally or inadvertently; as, to blow an agent's cover. [ 1913 Webster ]

Through the court his courtesy was blown. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

His language does his knowledge blow. Whiting. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To form by inflation; to swell by injecting air; as, to blow bubbles; to blow glass. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To inflate, as with pride; to puff up. [ 1913 Webster ]

Look how imagination blows him. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. To put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue; as, to blow a horse. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. To deposit eggs or larvæ upon, or in (meat, etc.). [ 1913 Webster ]

To suffer
The flesh fly blow my mouth. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. To perform an act of fellatio on; to stimulate another's penis with one's mouth; -- usually considered vulgar. [ slang ] [ PJC ]

12. to smoke (e. g. marijuana); to blow pot. [ colloq. ] [ PJC ]

13. to botch; to bungle; as, he blew his chance at a good job by showing up late for the interview. [ colloq. ] [ PJC ]

14. to leave; to depart from; as, to blow town. [ slang ] [ PJC ]

15. to squander; as, he blew his inheritance gambling. [ colloq. ] [ PJC ]

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. ] [ 1913 Webster ] I have blown him up well -- nobody can say I wink at what he does. G. Eliot. [ 1913 Webster ] --
To blow upon. (a) To blast; to taint; to bring into discredit; to render stale, unsavory, or worthless. (b) To inform against. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ] 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. [ 1913 Webster ] A lady's maid whose character had been blown upon. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) A blossom; a flower; also, a state of blossoming; a mass of blossoms. “Such a blow of tulips.” Tatler. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The spouting of a whale. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Metal.) A single heat or operation of the Bessemer converter. Raymond. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. An egg, or a larva, deposited by a fly on or in flesh, or the act of depositing it. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. the backward escape of unburned gunpowder after a shot. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. The downy seed head of a dandelion, which children delight to blow away. B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the leakage of gases from the combustion cylinder of an internal combustion engine between the piston and cylinder wall into the crankcase. [ PJC ]