blow the whistle

phrase

: to call public or official attention to something (such as a wrongdoing) kept secret

—usually used with on

blew the whistle on the firm's unethical practices

Examples of blow the whistle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The ads were allowed to begin 20 seconds after the referee blew the whistle for the break and had to end 30 seconds before play started again, which meant there was room for eight extra 30-second ad slots per match. — Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026

As Cape Verde prepared its defense, the referee blew the whistle, meaning Messi could proceed. — Tim Rohan, NBC news, 4 July 2026

After the referees blew the whistle dead in the fourth quarter, Clark and Bonner got entangled in an exchange of words. — Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 29 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for blow the whistle

• abyssal
• dismissal
• epistle
• bristle
• fissile
• gristle
• missal
• missile
• nissl
• thistle