English Reference

Word

blew

US/ˈbɫu/

UK/blˈuː/

Definitions

01air moving

A2

v. the past tense of blow; used when air or wind moved.

v. the simple past tense of blow, describing the movement of a current of air.

“A strong wind blew through the valley all night long.”

“A sudden, icy gust blew the heavy oak doors open, startling the guests who were gathered in the main hall.”

Usage

The past tense of the irregular verb 'blow'.

Synonyms

gustwaft

02spending money

B2

v. spent a large amount of money very quickly on things you did not need.

v. the simple past tense of blow, used informally to describe squandering or spending money recklessly.

“He blew his entire paycheck on a new pair of designer shoes.”

“After receiving his inheritance, he unfortunately blew the majority of the capital on speculative investments and luxury travel within a single year.”

Informal

Antonyms

03making a sound

B1 · Music

v. forced air through a whistle or instrument to make a noise.

v. the simple past tense of blow, referring to the act of forcing air through a device to produce a signal or music.

“The referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the match.”

“The trumpeter blew a triumphant fanfare as the procession entered the cathedral, the sound echoing off the high stone arches.”

Synonyms

Etymology

From Middle English blew, from Old English blēow, from Proto-West Germanic *blē.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry

Level
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Common
Updated

Scan code

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English Reference