ENGLISH
REFERENCE

blow out

phr. v..
A2 Elementary Oxford

phr. v.. to stop a flame from burning by blowing air on it with your mouth.

phr. v.. to extinguish a flame or fire by means of an air current, typically from the breath; transitive and separable.


SIMPLE

Make a wish and blow out the candles.

CONTEXTUAL

She blew out the match carefully before throwing it in the bin to avoid any danger.

COMPLEX

The sudden gust of wind from the open window blew out the scented candles, plunging the dining room into near-total darkness.

Origin

From Middle English blow out, blowe out, dissimilated forms of earlier Middle English outblowen, ut-blawen (> English outblow), equivalent to blow + out. Compare West Frisian útblaze (“to blow out”), Dutch uitblazen (“to blow out”), German ausblähen and ausblasen (“to blow out”), Danish blæse ud (“to blow out”), Swedish blåsa ut (“to blow out”).

Particles
out
Separability
optional
Pattern
blow + [object] + out
Usage

commonly used with candles, matches, or small lamps.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'put out', which is a general term for extinguishing any fire; 'blow out' specifically requires the use of air.

Pitfall

She blew the candles out of.She blew the candles out.the particle 'out' does not require 'of' when used as part of this phrasal verb.

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