blowup

noun blow·up \ ˈblō-ˌəp \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

Examples: blowup in a Sentence

Definition of blowup

plural blowups

: a blowing up: such as

a : explosion

b : an outburst of temper

c : enlargement 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

See blowup defined for English-language learners

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Examples of blowup in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of blowup from the Web

But what will be the impact of the Singapore summit and the G-7 blowup?

— howard kurtz, Fox News, "Trump slams press over Singapore as GOP embraces his praise for Kim," 14 June 2018
Merrill’s underwriting total soared to $35 billion in 2005, of which $14 billion were backed mostly by securities tied to subprime mortgages—the debt whose blowup sparked the financial crisis.

— lisa beilfuss, WSJ, "‘Grandfather of CDOs’ Trying to Do For Higher Education What He Did for Mortgages," 18 May 2018
Knotty pine and granite dominate inside, along with blowups of vintage photos showing the river scene in bygone decades.

— al pierleoni, sacbee, "Where to go for fun and food along Sacramento's Garden Highway | The Sacramento Bee," 18 May 2018
Any parent who bought their kid a Jason Witten item never had to worry about explaining some Witten child-like blowup or flub.

— mac engel, star-telegram, "Jason Witten's greatest feat was that he never let us down | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 3 May 2018
The blowup did cause the city to publicly acknowledge its role in promoting gentrification that caused the displacement of black residents, and the Portland Development Commission since launched an effort to change its image.

— elliot njus, OregonLive.com, "Natural Grocers to open on site Trader Joe's nixed amid gentrification controversy," 18 Apr. 2018
As long as a trade war doesn’t really derail global growth this year, the chances of a big blowup in China in 2018 remain slim.

— nathaniel taplin, WSJ, "Beijing’s Smoggy Skies Obscure China Slowdown," 14 Mar. 2018
There have been some starting pitching blowups — but more good than bad.

— jon meoli, baltimoresun.com, "Adam Jones says slumping Orioles aren't panicking, and won't until 'about June'," 18 Apr. 2018
This is a major mess, UGHRS, and there's no way to confront your boyfriend without risking a blowup.

— dan savage, Chicago Reader, "How to get laid without freaking out," 11 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'blowup.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of blowup

1757

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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blowup Synonyms

blow-up

adjective \ ˈblō-ˌəp \

Definition of blow-up

: inflatable

First Known Use of blow-up

1850

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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blow up

verb

Definition of blow 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

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

See blow up defined for kids

Examples of blow up in a Sentence

she blew up at everybody after a very long and very bad day
the building blew up because of a gas leak

Recent Examples of blow up from the Web

In this sixth installment, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) goes to Paris to prevent a madman (Sean Harris) from blowing up parts of the world.

— gary thompson, Philly.com, "Summer movies 2018: Here's when 'Ocean's 8,' 'Incredibles 2,' 'Jurassic World' and more hit theaters," 6 June 2018
In that classic 1975 movie, the problem was eventually solved by blowing up a giant shark.

— dan moran, Lake County News-Sun, "Moran: Waukegan trucks in 700 tons of sand to fill giant, germy beach puddle," 1 June 2018
Police in one Michigan community are turning to the public for help in identifying the people responsible for blowing up a mailbox.

— ann zaniewski, Detroit Free Press, "Adrian police seek suspects who blew up mailbox," 21 May 2018
Nigeria and Angola stumbled when oil prices fell; in the former, militants also choked off production by blowing up pipelines.

— The Economist, "Africa’s economies are turning a corner," 10 May 2018
What good were low prices, competitors said, if the rocket had a non-trivial chance of blowing up, and customers had to wait years to get into space?

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "Block 5 rocket launch marks the end of the beginning for SpaceX," 3 May 2018
Those who stray too far from Moscow’s line have a way of being blown up or shot under mysterious circumstances.

— sophie pinkham, The New Republic, "Why have post-Soviet countries embraced populism and nostalgia?," 3 May 2018
There's a lot of disagreement in NBA circles right now as to whether Allen would blow up the roster, fire staff and begin again.

— john canzano, OregonLive.com, "Canzano: Trail Blazers facing inconvenient truth about future in series against Pelicans," 19 Apr. 2018
Ironically, neither Cuba nor the United States is among the 135 nations that signed the Mine Ban Treaty, a 1997 agreement to end use of anti-personnel mines, those capable of blowing up a person or severing a limb.

— carol rosenberg, miamiherald, "Guantánamo ‘minesweepers’ perform a delicate task: Deadly devices disabled one by one | Miami Herald," 6 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'blow up.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of blow up

1536

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

blow up Synonyms

Synonyms

flare (up), flip (out) [slang];

Antonyms

calm (down), simmer down;

Near Antonyms

chill out [slang], cool (off or down), relax;

hush, quiet (down);

bristle, burn, foam, fume, glare, glower, seethe, sizzle, smolder (or smoulder), steam, warm;

burst, explode, flare (out), flash, inflame (also enflame), madden;

Phrases

blow a gasket, blow one's cool, blow one's stack, blow one's top, fly into a rage, fly off the handle, forget oneself, go ballistic, have a fit, hit the ceiling, hit the roof, lose one's cool, lose one's temper;