# blow up

Pronunciation: say "bloh-UP" US /ˌbloʊ ˈʌp/, UK /ˌbləʊ ˈʌp/; AUS

## Phrasal verb

1. To burst violently in an explosion, or to be destroyed by one.
   - Simple: To explode, or to be destroyed when something explodes.
   - _Investigators believe a gas leak caused the house to blow up shortly after midnight._
   - _The rocket blew up seconds after liftoff, scattering debris over the ocean._
2. To make something or someone explode, or to destroy a thing, or maim or kill a person, by means of an explosion.
   - Simple: To make something explode, or to destroy, hurt, or kill with an explosion.
   - _Retreating troops blew up the railroad bridges behind them to slow the advance._
   - _Insurgents planned to blow up the convoy's lead vehicle with a roadside bomb._
3. To fill something with air so that it swells, either by blowing into it or by using a pump.
   - Simple: To fill something with air, by blowing into it or with a pump.
   - _We spent the evening blowing up air mattresses for the guests._
   - _You'll need an electric pump to blow up a raft that size._
4. To make something larger, especially a photograph or other image, or to zoom in on it.
   - Simple: To make something bigger, like a photo, or to zoom in on it.
   - _Investigators asked the lab to blow up a frame of the security footage to read the license plate._
   - _We had our wedding photo blown up and framed for the living room._
5. To become very angry all of a sudden and lose one's temper. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To suddenly become very angry and lose control of your feelings.
   - _The coach blew up at the referee after the second bad call._
   - _I knew she'd blow up if she found out I'd borrowed the car without asking._
6. To become widely popular in a very short time. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To quickly become popular with a lot of people, almost overnight.
   - _The band played tiny clubs for years before their second album blew up._
   - _Everyone says the new taco place is about to blow up, so go before the lines get long._
7. To flood a phone or similar device with calls, texts, or notifications until it is briefly unusable or its owner is exasperated. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To send so many calls or messages to someone's phone that it stops working for a while or annoys them.
   - _Reporters blew up her phone for days after the story broke._
   - _If the flight is delayed again, my mom will blow up my phone asking where I am._
8. Of a phone or similar device, to receive so many calls, texts, or notifications that it is briefly unusable or exasperates its owner. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Of a phone, to get so many calls or messages that it is hard to use or very annoying.
   - _The moment the engagement photos went online, her phone was blowing up with congratulations._
   - _Our phones blow up with alerts every time the server goes down._
12. To end in complete and disastrous failure.
   - Simple: To go very wrong and fail in a big way.
   - _The merger blew up at the last minute when the two CEOs clashed over control._
   - _He knew the scheme might blow up in his face, but he went ahead anyway._
13. Of a storm, to begin to gather and take shape.
   - Simple: Of a storm, to start to form and build up.
   - _A violent storm blew up off the coast, forcing the fishing boats back to harbor._
   - _Hikers should watch the sky, since storms can blow up quickly in the mountains._
14. To blow in an upward direction, or up along something, in the ordinary literal sense of the two words.
   - Simple: To blow upward, or up along something.
   - _A cold wind blew up the valley from the river, rattling the shutters._
   - _Smoke from the stove should blow up the chimney, not back into the room._
15. Of a hangout, to become overwhelmed with more people or traffic than it can handle. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Of a place where people hang out, to suddenly get far more crowded than it can handle.
   - _The skate spot under the bridge blew up last year; now it's crowded every afternoon._
   - _Good fishing spots blow up fast once word gets around, so enjoy this one while it lasts._
16. To flood a place, especially a hangout, with visitors or traffic by letting others know it exists. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To tell people about a little-known place so that it gets far too crowded.
   - _Keep this bar to yourself; if you tell the whole office, you'll blow up my spot._
   - _A travel blogger blew up the hidden waterfall, and now it's mobbed every weekend._
17. To overwhelm a device, system or establishment with unexpectedly heavy demand, use, activity or traffic. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To send so much use or traffic to a machine, system or business that it cannot cope.
   - _A runaway script blew up the payment servers within minutes of launch._
   - _One viral post can blow up a small bakery's online ordering system._
18. Of a device, system or establishment, to be overwhelmed by unexpectedly heavy demand, use, activity or traffic. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Of a machine, system or business, to get far more use or traffic than it can handle.
   - _During the storm, the city's dispatch system blew up under the flood of incoming reports._
   - _Checkout pages tend to blow up in the first hour of a big sale, leaving shoppers staring at a spinning wheel._
19. To grow much fatter or rounder in a short time. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To get a lot fatter very quickly.
   - _After the injury he stopped training and blew up to nearly 250 pounds._
   - _Some actors blow up for a role and slim down again once filming ends._
20. Of a function, to increase without bound, tending toward infinity, as its argument or a parameter approaches some value.
   - Simple: Of a math function, to get bigger and bigger without end as a number gets close to some value.
   - _Near the pole the integrand blows up, so the integral has to be handled with care._
   - _For some starting values the solutions blow up in finite time, and the model stops making physical sense._
21. In a race, to go into oxygen debt and lose the ability to keep up the pace.
   - Simple: In a race, to be so out of breath that you can no longer keep up your speed.
   - _He attacked too hard on the first climb and blew up long before the summit._
   - _Riders who chase every early breakaway often blow up in the final kilometers._
22. To fill a place with a foul smell by passing gas, using the toilet, or the like. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To make a very bad smell, for example by passing gas or using the toilet.
   - _My brother managed to blow up the bathroom right before the guests arrived._
   - _Somebody blew it up in the elevator, and everyone got off at the next floor._
23. Of a referee or other official in a sport, to blow the whistle.
   - Simple: Of a referee, to blow the whistle during a game.
   - _The referee blew up for offside, and the goal didn't count._
   - _Players are taught never to stop running until the official blows up._

## Noun · blow-up

Pronunciation: say "BLOH-up" US /ˈbloʊ ʌp/, UK /ˈbləʊ ʌp/

9. An explosion, either a physical blast or an emotional one such as a sudden angry outburst or a bitter dispute. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A sudden explosion, either a real one or a sudden burst of anger.
   - _The coach's blow-up at the press conference was replayed on every sports channel._
   - _The blow-up at the refinery could be heard ten miles away._
10. An enlarged copy of something, such as a photograph. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A bigger copy of something, such as a photo.
   - _A poster-size blow-up of the photo hung behind the stage at the memorial._
   - _The lawyer showed the jury blow-ups of the signed contract._

## Adjective · blow-up

Pronunciation: say "BLOH-up" US /ˈbloʊ ʌp/, UK /ˈbləʊ ʌp/

11. Made so that it can be filled with air, by mouth or with a pump.
   - Simple: Made to be filled with air before you use it.
   - _Guests slept on blow-up mattresses in the living room._
   - _A giant blow-up snowman stood on the neighbors' lawn all December._

## Phrasal verb

24. To puff someone up with pride, self-conceit or a similar feeling. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To make someone feel much too proud of themselves.
   - _Years of easy success had blown him up with self-importance._
   - _Flatterers at court blew up the young king with notions of his own greatness._
25. To scold someone fiercely and angrily. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To speak to someone in a very angry way because they did something wrong.
   - _When the boy broke the window, his uncle blew him up soundly and sent him to bed._
   - _The landlady blew up her lodger for coming in drunk, shouting at him on the stairs until the neighbors woke._
26. To excite or stir up something, such as a quarrel. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To stir up something, like a fight or an argument.
   - _Pamphleteers did their best to blow up a dispute between the rival churches._
   - _Agitators traveled from town to town to blow up discontent among the workers._
27. To take an intoxicating drug, or to get high on one. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To take a drug to get high.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–8, 12–27** — From Middle English blow up, blowe up, dissimilated forms of earlier Middle English upblowen (whence English upblow), equivalent to blow + up. Compare Dutch opblazen, German aufblasen, Swedish blåsa upp and Icelandic blása upp (all “to blow up, inflate”), and Gothic ufblēsan (“to blow or puff up”).
**Meanings 9–11** — Formed from the phrasal verb blow up.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/blow-up (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).