Meaning & use
blow blew blown
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To move air out of your mouth, or (of wind) to move air naturally.
Grammar: With a person it takes an object (blow a whistle); with wind it has no object (the wind blows).
Patterns
- blow something
- blow on something
- the wind blows
She blew out the candles on her birthday cake.
A cold wind was blowing from the north.
He blew on his hot soup before tasting it.
verbtransitive
To send something through the air, or to make a sound with an instrument, using your breath.
Grammar: Always takes an object: blow bubbles, blow a whistle, blow a kiss.
Patterns
- blow bubbles
- blow a whistle
- blow someone a kiss
The children blew bubbles in the garden all afternoon.
The referee blew his whistle to stop the game.
She blew me a kiss as the train left.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To break open or destroy something with an explosion, or to make a tire flat suddenly.
Grammar: Can take an object (blow up a bridge) or be used without one (the tire blew).
Patterns
- blow something up
- blow a tire
- the tire blew
The soldiers blew up the old bridge.
We were late because a tire blew on the highway.
The safe had been blown open during the night.
verbtransitiveinformal
To lose an opportunity or waste money quickly and foolishly.
Grammar: Takes an object, often a chance, a lead, or money: blow your chance.
Patterns
- blow a chance
- blow a lead
- blow money on something
He blew his chance to study abroad by missing the deadline.
Our team led by two goals but blew the lead in the last minute.
She blew her whole salary on a new phone.
verbintransitiveinformal
To be completely wrong or ruined, or (of a secret) to become known to everyone.
Grammar: No object; often used in the phrase blow it or with a plan or cover.
Patterns
- blow it
- blow someone's cover
I really blew it in the interview and forgot everything.
The plan blew up when the police arrived early.
His cover was blown by a single careless phone call.
Word forms
| third person singular | blows |
|---|---|
| past tense | blew |
| past participle | blown |
| -ing form | blowing |
Common combinations
- blow out
- She blew out all the candles in one breath.
- blow up
- The balloon blew up with a loud bang.
- blow away
- The strong wind blew away my hat.
- blow your nose
- He took a tissue and blew his nose.
- the wind blows
- The wind blows hard here in winter.
- blow a kiss
- The little girl blew a kiss to her mother.
Synonyms and how they differ
- puff
- Use puff for short, quick bursts of breath, as when you puff out smoke; blow is more general and can be long or strong.
- gust
- Gust is a noun for a sudden strong rush of wind, not a verb; use blow for the action of the wind itself.
- explode
- Explode is more formal and usually describes the thing that bursts; blow up is the everyday phrasal verb.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: blow blew blown or blew? blow blew blown or blue?
blow blew blown vs blew
Blew is only the past tense of blow (he blew the whistle). Do not use it after have or be; use blown there (he has blown the whistle).
blow blew blown vs blue
Blue is the color or a sad feeling; blew is the past tense of blow. They sound the same, so check the spelling.
Practice
Which sentence uses the correct form of blow?
Choose one answer.
After the helping verb has, we need the past participle blown. Blow is the base form and blew is the simple past, so neither fits after has; blowing would need a form of be, as in was blowing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “blow blew blown”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.