blowup

1 of 3

noun

blow·​up ˈblō-ˌəp 

plural blowups

: a blowing up: such as

a

: explosion

b

: an outburst of temper

c

: enlargement sense 2

d

: a catastrophic financial failure or collapse

Sometime in the next few years, a blowup is likely—one that could sink an already foundering economy.

—David Henry

blow-up

2 of 3

adjective

ˈblō-ˌəp 

: designed to be inflated before use : inflatable

Here on the south coast the unusually warm seas have been filled with the inflatable vessels … : blow-up kayaks, dinghies and paddleboards.

—Ian Burrell

Sleeping in the car has now gone from rough and ready to the most comfortable outdoor experience—thanks to an ingenious blow-up mattress.

—Becky Pemberton

blow up

3 of 3

verb

blew up; blown up; blowing up; blows up

transitive verb

1

: to build up or tout to an unreasonable extent

advertisers blowing up their products

2

: to rend apart, shatter, or destroy by explosion

3

: to fill up with a gas (such as air)

blow up a balloon

4

: to make a photographic enlargement of

5

: to bring into existence by blowing of wind

it may blow up a storm

6

: to overwhelm (something, such as a phone) with calls, messages, alerts, etc.

… say your friend is blowing up your phone with … messages while you're supposed to be focusing on something else.

—Jake Peterson

intransitive verb

1

a

: explode

b

: to be disrupted or destroyed (as by explosion)

c

: to lose self-control

especially : to become violently angry

2

: to become or come into being by or as if by blowing of wind

3

a

: to become filled with a gas

b

: to become expanded to unreasonable proportions

c

: to gain a large amount of weight

In the ensuing two years Gibson blew up to more than 400 pounds as he ate an over-abundance of fast foods …

—Tim Crothers

4

: to suddenly become very successful, prevalent, or popular

Latin-tinged pop is blowing up because it fits the musical times: …

—Christopher John Farley

Synonyms

Noun

• explosion
• fireworks
• fit
• hissy [chiefly Southern & southern Midland]
• hissy fit
• huff
• scene
• tantrum

Verb

• flare (up)
• flip (out) [slang]

Examples of blowup in a Sentence

Noun

The blowup of the photograph was easy to frame.

The two of them had a big blowup about something trivial.

The coach's latest blowup occurred when one of his players arrived late.

Verb

she blew up at everybody after a very long and very bad day

the building blew up because of a gas leak

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Zelensky left the White House last week without signing a bilateral mineral deal after a blowup in the Oval Office that dimmed the chances of a peace agreement with Russia. —Mabinty Quarshie, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 5 Mar. 2025

Another official said that, had Zelenskyy kept his disagreements behind closed doors, the blowup wouldn't have happened. —Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 1 Mar. 2025

Adjective

Second, the tariff blow-up: escalating trade tensions have seen tariffs spike dramatically, including 145% on Chinese luxury imports and 125% on certain US categories, disrupting supply chains, inflating prices, and dampening demand. —Kate Hardcastle, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025

The new tour follows decades of tension between the brothers, who last performed together during Oasis’ 2009 tour before an infamous backstage blow-up in Paris led to the band’s split. —Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 22 Apr. 2025

Verb

My whole plan, my whole world, my whole bubble blew up. —Erin Moriarty, Liza Finley, CBS News, 4 May 2025

Since the pandemic, many tech companies have tried to walk back work-life balance accommodations made for the work-from-home era, but sometimes pushback against long hours has blown up in public. —Richard Nieva, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1757, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1850, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1538, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for blowup

• backup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup
• pickup

Kids Definition

blowup

1 of 2 noun

blow·​up ˈblō-ˌəp 

1

: explosion sense 1

2

: an outburst of bad temper

3

: a photographic enlargement

blow up

2 of 2 verb

ˈblō-ˈəp

1

: to expand or become expanded to extraordinary size

2

: to fill up or become filled with a gas and especially air

blow up a balloon

3

: to make an enlargement of

blow up a photograph

4

a

: to destroy or become destroyed by explosion

b

: to become violently angry