blow over
2 meanings
be knocked down by strong wind
What does "blow over" mean in this sense?
Examples
- The strong winds blew over several garden fences in the neighbourhood.
- Our wheelie bin was blown over by the storm and ended up in the middle of the road.
- Watch out — a gust like that could blow the sign over.
How to use it
The most common active pattern, where a weather phenomenon is the subject and a physical object is what gets knocked down.
The storm blew over several large trees near the park.
Used when separating the verb from the particle, which is especially natural with short noun phrases or pronouns.
A strong gust blew the garden furniture over before we could bring it inside.
When the object is a pronoun, it must go between 'blow' and 'over', never after.
The wheelie bin was already unsteady, and the wind blew it over.
The passive is very natural here and is commonly used when the focus is on the thing that was toppled rather than the wind itself.
Three fences in our street were blown over by the gale last night.
The wind can be left out entirely when it's already obvious from context, making 'blow over' intransitive.
The tent blew over in the middle of the night.
Common Collocations
Common Mistakes
When using a pronoun like 'it' or 'them', it must go between 'blow' and 'over', not after 'over'.
'Blow over' has a completely different meaning when used with abstract subjects — it can mean a problem or scandal fades and is forgotten. Make sure your subject is something physical (a tree, a fence, a sign) to express the 'topple' meaning.
The present continuous sounds unnatural unless you are describing something happening at that exact moment. For general or recent events, use the simple past or present perfect instead.
Usage
This is a neutral, everyday expression used in both speech and writing, especially when talking about storms or strong winds. The passive form ('the fence was blown over') is very common in news reports about weather damage.
pass and be forgotten (a problem, argument, or storm)
Sense 2: What does "blow over" mean?
Examples
- Don't worry about the bad reviews — the whole thing will blow over in a week.
- The political scandal eventually blew over, and the minister kept his job.
- She hoped the argument with her neighbour would blow over before the summer.
How to use it
The subject is almost always 'it' referring to a named situation, or a specific abstract noun such as 'the scandal' or 'the argument' — the verb is intransitive and takes no object.
The controversy caused a lot of noise at the time, but it blew over within a month.
Time adverbials like 'eventually', 'soon', or 'in time' are very commonly added to indicate how quickly or gradually the situation is expected to fade.
Don't panic — the backlash will blow over soon enough.
This construction is especially common in advice-giving, suggesting someone should be patient and let the situation pass on its own.
The best strategy is just to wait for the media fuss to blow over.
Used when someone anticipates or wishes that a difficult situation will end, often with some uncertainty about whether it will.
She expected the uproar over her comments to blow over, but it never really did.
Common Collocations
Common Mistakes
Because 'blow over' is intransitive in this sense, it cannot take an object. Only the situation itself can be the subject — you cannot say that a person or organisation 'blew over' a scandal.
Saying something 'is blowing over' sounds unnatural for this abstract sense. The situation is viewed as a whole process — use future simple, present perfect, or past simple instead.
'Die down' describes a gradual reduction in intensity — noise, anger, or excitement becoming quieter — without necessarily implying that something is forgotten. 'Blow over' specifically means the whole situation passes and ceases to matter.
Usage
This phrasal verb is neutral and works in both spoken and written English. It is especially common in reassuring someone that a difficult situation is temporary ('Just wait — it'll blow over').
Frequently Asked Questions
Does 'blow over' always mean something is knocked down by wind?
No — 'blow over' has another common meaning where a problem or scandal fades away and is forgotten. However, context makes it easy to tell which meaning is intended. If the subject is something physical like a tree or a fence, it means knocked down by wind. If the subject is something abstract like a controversy or a bad situation, it means the opposite sense.
Can a person blow something over, or does it have to be the wind?
In practice, this phrasal verb is almost always used with wind or a weather event as the cause — things like a storm, a gust, or a gale. It would sound unusual to say a person 'blew something over' unless the wind is still implied.
Is the passive form common with 'blow over'?
Yes, the passive is very natural and widely used, especially in news reports about weather damage. Sentences like 'Several trees were blown over by the storm' are completely normal and often preferred when the focus is on what was knocked down rather than the wind itself.
What kinds of objects are typically blown over?
Common examples include fences, trees, wheelie bins, garden sheds, signs, plant pots, garden furniture, tents, and bicycles — anything that stands upright and could realistically be knocked over by strong wind. The object needs to be something solid and physical.
Can 'blow over' be used in the passive, like 'the scandal was blown over'?
No — 'blow over' in this sense is intransitive, which means it has no object and cannot be made passive. The situation is always the subject: 'the scandal blew over', not 'the scandal was blown over'.
Does 'blow over' always mean something is completely forgotten, or just that it ends?
It implies both — not just that a situation ends, but that it stops mattering and fades from people's attention. If you want to say something became less intense without implying it was forgotten, 'die down' is a better choice.
Can 'blow over' have a physical meaning too, or is it always about situations?
There is a second, literal sense where physical objects like trees or fences are knocked down by wind — for example, 'The fence blew over in the storm.' This page focuses only on the abstract sense, where a scandal, argument, or controversy passes and is forgotten. The context usually makes it clear which sense is meant.
What kinds of subjects sound most natural with 'blow over'?
Abstract nouns referring to troublesome situations work best: scandal, controversy, argument, crisis, row, fuss, backlash, uproar, or simply 'the whole thing'. The pronoun 'it' referring to one of these situations is also very common, especially in spoken English.
Is 'blow over' more common in British or American English?
It is used in both, but it appears particularly often in British English journalism and conversation, especially when talking about political scandals or public controversies. American speakers use it too, though perhaps slightly less frequently in everyday speech.
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