blow up
[verb]
Synonyms:
- explode, blast, blow sky-high, bomb, burst, detonate, rupture, shatter
- inflate, bloat, distend, enlarge, expand, fill, puff up, pump up, swell
- lose one's temper, become angry, erupt, fly off the handle (informal), hit the roof (informal), rage, see red (informal)

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English Thesaurus: explode, go off, blow up, erupt, burst, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

blow up phrasal verb (see also blow)

1. to destroy something, or to be destroyed, by an explosion:
The plane blew up in midair.
blow something ↔ up
Rebels attempted to blow up the bridge.

2. blow something ↔ up to fill something with air or gas:
Can you blow up this balloon?
We’ll blow the tyres up.

3. if a situation, argument etc blows up, it suddenly becomes important or dangerous:
A crisis had blown up over the peace talks.

4. blow something ↔ up if you blow up a photograph, you make it larger Synonym : enlarge

5. informal to become very angry with someone:
Jenny’s father blew up when she didn’t come home last night.
blow up at
I was surprised at the way he blew up at Hardy.

6. if bad weather blows up, it suddenly arrives:
It looks as if there’s a storm blowing up.

7. blow up in sb’s face if something you have done or planned to do blows up in your face, it suddenly goes wrong:
One of his deals had just blown up in his face.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

ˈblow-up noun

1. [countable] a photograph, or part of a photograph, that has been made larger

2. [countable usually singular] American English a sudden big argument or disagreement
⇒ blow up at blow¹

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

explode verb [intransitive] if a bomb explodes, it bursts suddenly and violently with a loud noise:
A bomb exploded in a crowded metro station this morning, killing five people.
go off phrasal verb if a bomb goes off, it explodes. Go off is less formal than explode and is the usual phrase to use in everyday English:
Luckily the station was empty when the bomb went off.
As many as ten bombs went off across the city, most of them car bombs.
blow up phrasal verb if a building, car, plane etc blows up, it bursts suddenly and violently into pieces, causing a lot of damage:
The plane blew up in mid-air, killing all the passengers and crew.
In early 1986, a US space shuttle blew up shortly after launch.
erupt /ɪˈrʌpt/ verb [intransitive] if a volcano erupts, it explodes and sends smoke and rock into the sky:
The volcano has erupted at least fifteen times since 1883.
burst verb [intransitive] if something that has air or liquid inside it bursts, it explodes and the air or liquid comes out:
One of the water pipes had burst.
The plane caught fire after its tyre burst on landing.
set off phrasal verb to make a bomb explode, either deliberately or accidentally. Set off is less formal than explode and is the usual phrase to use in everyday English:
The group set off a bomb outside a crowded cafe in Izmir last September.
Police say radio signals were probably used to set the bomb off.
detonate /ˈdetəneɪt/ verb [transitive] to make a bomb explode, especially by using special equipment. Detonate is a more technical word than set off:
Army experts detonated the bomb safely in a nearby field.
The 200 kg bomb was detonated by terrorists using a remote-control device.
let off phrasal verb British English to deliberately make a bomb explode:
Terrorists let off a bomb in the city centre.
The bomb was let off shortly before 3 pm.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

explode verb [transitive] to make a bomb burst suddenly and violently with a loud noise:
The terrorists planned to explode a car bomb outside the US embassy.
set off phrasal verb to make a bomb explode, either deliberately or accidentally. Set off is less formal than explode and is the usual phrase to use in everyday English:
The group set off a bomb outside a crowded cafe in Izmir last September.
Police say radio signals were probably used to set the bomb off.
detonate /ˈdetəneɪt/ verb [transitive] to make a bomb explode, especially by using special equipment. Detonate is a more technical word than set off:
Army experts detonated the bomb safely in a nearby field.
The 200 kg bomb was detonated by terrorists using a remote-control device.
let off phrasal verb British English to deliberately make a bomb explode:
Terrorists let off a bomb in the city centre.
The bomb was let off shortly before 3 pm.
blow up phrasal verb to make a building, car, plane etc explode:
He was involved in a plot to blow up a passenger jet.
He struck a match and blew the whole place up.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

blow up
blow up (something)
to make something larger.
Could you blow this picture up to 8 by 10?

to become suddenly very angry.
He may blow up when he finds out how much money I spent.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

blow up something
blow up (something)
to make something larger.
Could you blow this picture up to 8 by 10?

to become suddenly very angry.
He may blow up when he finds out how much money I spent.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

blow up
to get angry, to lose one's temper
The passenger who was waiting in the line blew up at the ticket agent.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

blow up
v.
1a. To break or destroy or to be destroyed by explosion.
He blew up the plane by means of a concealed bomb.
The fireworks factory blew up when something went wrong in an electric switch.
1b. informal To explode with anger or strong feeling; lose control of yourself.
When Father bent the nail for the third time, he blew up.
Compare: BLOW A FUSE.
1c. To stop playing well in a game or contest, usually because you are in danger of losing or are tired; especially: To lose skill or control in pitching baseball.
The champion blew up and lost the tennis match.
Our team was behind but the pitcher on the other team blew up and we got the winning runs.
2. informal To be ruined as if by explosion; be ended suddenly.
The whole scheme for a big party suddenly blew up.
3a. To pump full of air; inflate.
He blew his tires up at a filling station.
3b. To make (something) seem bigger or important.
It was a small thing to happen but the newspapers had blown it up until it seemed important.
4. To bring on bad weather; also, to come on as bad weather.
The wind had blown up a storm.
A storm had blown up.
5. To copy in bigger form; enlarge.
He blew up the snapshot to a larger size.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲