blast

USBLAST/blæst/UKBLAHST/blɑːst/

33 meanings of blast

1
nouncountable or uncountable
A sudden explosion, often set off to break apart rock or other solid material.
Like setting off a firework, but much stronger and used to break rock.
The blast shook windows for miles around the quarry.
Workers cleared the area before the blast brought down the cliff face.
Similarexplosion, detonation
2
nouncountable
A loud, sudden sound, like a sharp burst of noise.
Like a sudden bang that fills the whole room.
A blast from the car horn made everyone jump.
We heard a loud blast as the whistle signaled the start.
Similarblare, hoot, toot, honk
Note
3
nouncolloquialfigurativelycountable or uncountable
A really fun time or enjoyable experience.
Like the best day at an amusement park.
The party was a blast from start to finish.
We had a blast at the beach yesterday.
Similarball, riot, hoot, joy
Oppositedrag, bore
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4
nouncountable or uncountable
A strong, angry telling-off or sharp criticism.
Like getting yelled at for breaking a rule.
Her email was a real blast aimed at the whole team.
He got a blast from the coach for missing practice.
Similarbroadside, attack, salvo, swipe, criticism
Note
5
nouncountable or uncountable
A sudden, strong rush of wind that hits hard.
Like the push of air when a big door slams.
A blast of cold wind knocked the hat off his head.
Each time a truck passed, we felt a blast of air.
Similargust, squall, rush
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6
verbtransitive
To criticize or scold someone in a strong, angry way.
Like a teacher angrily telling a student off for breaking rules.
Critics blast the studio every time a sequel underperforms.
The coach blasted the players for their sloppy defense.
Similarcriticize, condemn, berate, denounce, rebuke
Oppositepraise, commend, laud
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7
verbcolloquialtransitive
To play music very loudly through a speaker.
Like turning the volume all the way up.
Teenagers blast music from their cars on weekend nights.
He blasted his favorite song while cleaning the kitchen.
Similarblare
8
verbtransitive
To break something into pieces, as an explosion would.
Like smashing a clay pot so it breaks into bits.
The miners blasted the boulder into gravel.
A single charge can blast the rock apart.
Similarshatter, smash
9
verbtransitive
To make a hole in something using a sudden, forceful method like an explosion.
Like punching a hole through a wall with great force.
The crew blasted a tunnel through the mountainside.
Engineers blast an opening in the rock to lay the pipe.
Similarblow
10
verbintransitive
To make a very loud, sudden sound.
Like a horn going off right next to you.
The trumpets blast at the start of the parade.
Sirens blasted all through the night.
Similarblare, sound, boom, shriek, honk

11
nouncountable or uncountable
A strong stream of gas or air pushed out through a narrow opening.
Like air rushing out when you squeeze a balloon's neck.
A blast of steam escaped from the valve.
The bellows pushed a blast of air onto the fire.
Similarjet, burst, stream, gust
12
nouncountable or uncountable
An amount of explosive prepared to be set off.
Like the gunpowder packed inside a firework before it goes off.
They placed the blast deep in the drill hole.
Each blast was wired to a remote switch.
Similarcharge
Note
13
nouncountable or uncountable
A single advertising message sent to everyone on a mailing list.
Like one flyer sent at once to every mailbox on a street.
The bakery sent out a blast about its grand opening.
Subscribers received a blast with a discount code last night.
Similarmailing, mailshot, mailout
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14
verbtransitive
To destroy something or bring it to ruin.
Like a storm wiping out everything in its path.
A single bad season can blast a small business.
The scandal blasted his hopes of winning.
Similarruin, destroy, wreck, shatter, devastate
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15
verbtransitive
To shoot something with an energy weapon, like a laser, not a gun that fires bullets.
Like zapping a target in a video game.
The hero blasted the alien with his ray gun.
You can blast the droids before they reach the door.
Similarshoot, zap
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16
verbtransitive
To impress or affect someone with a very loud noise.
Like a fire alarm so loud it grabs everyone's attention at once.
The band blasted the crowd with sound so loud it shook the floor.
Speakers can blast a whole stadium with music.
Similardeafen
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17
verbslangtransitive or intransitive
To shoot at someone or something with a gun.
He blasted the target with his pistol.
They blast at anyone who steps onto their turf.
Similarshoot, fire
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18
verbtransitive
To kick the ball hard at the goal, hoping to score.
Like hitting a ball as hard as you can to get it past the goalkeeper.
She blasted the ball into the top corner.
He can blast a free kick from thirty yards out.
Similardrive, smash, hammer, fire, rifle
Note
19
verbtransitive
To curse someone or something, or wish harm on them.
Like shouting an angry curse at something that has gone wrong.
She blasted the broken machine and threw down her tools.
I could blast that man for what he did to us.
Similarcurse, damn
Oppositebless
20
nouncountable or uncountable
A single puff of a drug taken from a pipe.
He took a quick blast from the pipe and passed it on.
One blast was enough to make her start coughing.
Similarhit, toke, drag, pull, puff
21
interjectioncolloquialBritish
A word you say when you are angry or upset about something.
Like saying "oh no!" out loud when something goes wrong.
Blast! I missed the train again.
Oh, blast, the milk's gone off.
Similardamn, drat, darn, bother, rats
Note
22
nouncountable or uncountable
Steam from an engine that is forced up a chimney, pulling a strong rush of air through the fire.
Like blowing on hot coals to make them burn brighter, but the steam does the blowing.
The blast from the engine roared up the chimney.
A strong blast pulled fresh air through the burning coals.
Similardraft
23
nouncountable or uncountable
A steady stream of air blown through ore or metal inside a furnace.
Like aiming a hair dryer at hot coals to keep them burning.
The blast kept the furnace hot enough to melt the iron ore.
Workers increased the blast to speed up the melting.
Note
24
noununcountable
Loud, unwanted noise that a microphone makes.
Like the loud thump you hear when someone bumps a microphone.
A sudden blast from the mic made everyone wince.
The recording had a loud blast every time he said a "p".
Similarpop, distortion
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25
verbtransitive
To make a plant dry up and die.
Like how cold weather can kill flowers overnight.
The frost blasted the young crops overnight.
A late freeze can blast an entire orchard.
Similarblight, wither, shrivel
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26
nouncountable or uncountable
A sudden harmful effect on plants or animals, as if caused by a poisonous wind.
Like a sickness that sweeps through a field and kills the plants.
A strange blast killed half the herd within days.
The garden suffered a blast that left every leaf brown.
Similarblight
Note
27
nouncountable
A young, undeveloped cell that has not yet become a certain type.
Like a baby cell that has not yet become any particular kind of cell.
Doctors found too many blasts in the patient's blood sample.
Each blast in the marrow can develop into a mature blood cell.
Note
28
verbcolloquialtransitive
To search for matching DNA or protein sequences using a computer tool called BLAST.
Like using a search engine, but for matching pieces of DNA.
She blasted the gene sequence to find similar ones in other species.
You can blast a protein sequence to see what it matches.
Note
29
nounslangcountable or uncountable
A stretch of time when someone takes a high dose of performance-enhancing drugs, instead of a lower dose.
Like turning the dose all the way up for a while before easing off.
He gains the most muscle during a blast.
Her blast lasts about twelve weeks before she cuts back.
Oppositecruise
Note
30
verbslangintransitive
To take a high dose of performance-enhancing drugs for a while, instead of cutting back.
Like running an engine at full speed for a while before slowing it down.
He likes to blast for a few months before easing off.
She blasted all winter to gain size.
Oppositecruise
Note
31
noun
A sickness that makes a sheep's belly swell up with gas.
32
verbobsolete
Of a plant, to shrivel or be badly damaged, as by disease or frost.
Tell age it daily wasteth; tell honour how it alters; Tell beauty how she blasteth; tell fauour how it falters: And as they shall reply, giue euery one the lye.
c. 1592, Walter Raleigh, “The Lie”
33
verbobsolete
To play a trumpet or horn by blowing into it.

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–5, 11–13, 20, 22–24, 26, 29

From Old English blǣst meaning "blowing" or "blast", which goes back to older Germanic words for blowing.

Meanings 6–10, 14–19, 21, 25, 30

From Old English blǣstan meaning "to blow" or "to blast", from older Germanic roots.

Meaning 27

From the Ancient Greek word blastós, meaning "germ or sprout".

Meaning 28

From BLAST, short for Basic Local Alignment Search Tool.