Phrasal verbs with blow

When you think of blow, you naturally picture air moving with force – and this basic idea runs through most phrasal verbs with this verb. The power of wind or breath connects many of these combinations, but they work in quite different ways.

Some phrasal verbs keep this physical sense of air movement. You can blow something down when strong wind knocks over a tree or building. Similarly, wind can blow someone or something away, carrying them off with its force. When you blow something out, you use your breath to extinguish a candle or match. You also blow something up when you fill a balloon or tyre with air.

But blow often moves beyond just air and wind. The idea of sudden force or power appears in other meanings. When something blows up, it can explode with tremendous energy. People blow up too – they suddenly explode with anger instead of staying calm. A tyre that blows out bursts with sudden force while you're driving.

The particles change everything. Blow something off means you treat it casually or dismiss it completely – quite different from the wind sense. When something blows over, like a scandal or argument, it passes away and people forget about it. Blow someone away can mean the wind carries them off, but informally it means you impress them so much they're stunned.