# blow

> English word · Verb · IPA /bləʊ/ · frequency rank #2,516

## Definitions
1. To produce an air current.
2. To propel by an air current (or, if under water, a water current), usually with the mouth.
3. To be propelled by an air current.
4. To direct or move, usually of a person to a particular location.
5. To create or shape by blowing.
6. To force a current of air upon with the mouth, or by other means.
7. To clear of contents by forcing air through.
8. To cause to make sound by blowing (as a musical instrument).
9. To make a sound as a result of being blown.
10. To exhale visibly through the spout the seawater which it has taken in while feeding.
11. To burst or explode; to occur suddenly
12. To cause to explode, shatter, or be utterly destroyed.
13. To cause the sudden destruction of.
14. To blow from a gun (method of executing a person).
15. To suddenly fail or give way destructively.
16. To melt away because of overcurrent, creating a gap in a wire, thus stopping a circuit from operating.
17. To recklessly squander.
18. To fail at; to mess up; to make a mistake in.
19. To be very undesirable.
20. To perform oral sex on (someone); to fellate.
21. To leave, especially suddenly or in a hurry.
22. To leave the Church of Scientology in an unauthorized manner.
23. To make flyblown; to defile or spoil, especially with fly eggs.
24. (of a fly) To lay eggs; to breed (in flesh or meat).
25. To spread by report; to publish; to disclose.
26. To inflate, as with pride; to puff up.
27. To breathe hard or quick; to pant; to puff.
28. To put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue.
29. To talk loudly; boast; brag.
30. To slander, insult, critique or discredit (someone); to reprimand or scold (someone).
31. To expose, or inform on.
32. To sing.
33. To flatulate or defecate.

## Etymology
From Middle English blowen, from Old English blāwan (“to blow, breathe, inflate, sound”), from Proto-West Germanic *blāan, from Proto-Germanic *blēaną (“to blow”) (compare German blähen), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- (“to swell, blow up”) (compare Latin flō (“to blow”) and Old Armenian բեղուն (bełun, “fertile”)).

## Easily confused with
- **bo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-bo)
- **BW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-bw)
- **boy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-boy)
- **box** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-box)
- **bob** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-bob)
- **bro** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-bro)
- **bow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-bow)
- **BTW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-btw)
- **BMW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-bmw)
- **boo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-boo)
- **bot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-bot)
- **BON** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-bon)
- **Boi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-boi)
- **bop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-bop)
- **bog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-bog)
- **BOM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-bom)
- **boa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-boa)
- **bod** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-bod)
- **bor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-bor)
- **bok** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-bok)

## Common misspellings (5)
`bblow`, `bllow`, `bloww`, `blwo`, `lbow`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/blow