Definition

1. Verb (transitive):

   • To extinguish something by blowing: To cause a flame, fire, or light to stop burning or shining by blowing air on it.
   • To cause to burst or fail suddenly: To cause something to rupture, break, or become unusable, often due to pressure, overload, or defect.

2. Verb (intransitive):

   • To be extinguished by blowing: (Of a flame, candle, etc.) To go out because air is blown on it.
   • To erupt or burst suddenly: To burst or fail in an uncontrolled, often violent manner.
   • To become unusable by breaking: (Of an electrical component like a fuse or bulb) To suddenly stop working by melting or breaking.

Usage Examples

• Verb (transitive):

  • Please blow out the candles on your birthday cake.
  • The sudden power surge blew out the transformer.

• Verb (intransitive):

  • The candle blew out in the draft from the open window.
  • The tire blew out on the highway, causing the car to swerve.
  • We heard a pop when the lightbulb blew out.

Advanced Usage

• "to blow itself out": (Of a storm or strong wind) to lose its force and stop.

  • The hurricane should blow itself out over the ocean.

• In a figurative sense: To end or dissipate forcefully.

  • The scandal finally blew out after weeks of media coverage.

Variants and Related Words

• Blowout (noun): A sudden bursting or failure (e.g., a tire blowout); a decisive victory in sports; a large, lavish party or meal.
  • We had a tire blowout on the trip.
  • The game was a complete blowout, with our team winning 10-0.

Synonyms

• Extinguish: To cause a fire or light to stop burning.
• Snuff out: To extinguish a candle or flame, often by pinching or smothering.
• Burst: To break open or apart suddenly and violently, often from internal pressure.
• Short-circuit: To cause an electrical device to fail by a faulty connection.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Blow over: (Of trouble or an argument) to pass without serious consequences.

  • Don't worry, this disagreement will soon blow over.

• Blow up: To explode; to inflate; to become very angry; to enlarge (a photograph).

  • The engineers had to blow up the old bridge.

Related Idioms

• Blow out of proportion: To make a situation seem much more important or serious than it really is.

  • It was a minor mistake, but the manager blew it out of proportion.

• Blow someone's mind: To greatly surprise or impress someone.

  • The special effects in that movie will blow your mind.

Verb

1. erupt in an uncontrolled manner
   • The oil well blew out
2. put out, as of fires, flames, or lights
   • Too big to be extinguished at once, the forest fires at best could be contained
   • quench the flames
   • snuff out the candles
3. melt, break, or become otherwise unusable
   • The lightbulbs blew out
   • The fuse blew