plural blowups
: a blowing up: such as
a
b
: an outburst of temper
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
David Henry
: 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
Ian BurrellSleeping 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
Becky Pemberton
blew up; blown up; blowing up; blows up
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
Jake Peterson1
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
Tim Crothers4
: to suddenly become very successful, prevalent, or popular
Latin-tinged pop is blowing up because it fits the musical times: …—Christopher John Farley
Christopher John FarleyExamples 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
Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2025
No big credit red flags, though corporate credit spreads are up off their lows in recent weeks and the nagging questions about a couple of private-debt blowups are on repeat.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2025
Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 10 Oct. 2025
In this week's PEOPLE cover story, the designer opens up about the final blow-up that ended her relationship for the first time.
—Mackenzie Schmidt, PEOPLE, 2 Oct. 2025
Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
In 1996, Independence Day caused a stir with a Super Bowl spot that showed an alien ship blowing up the White House.
—Aaron Couch, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for blowup
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Noun
According to them, these instances are traditional bank lending blowups, and the mislabeling reveals more about competitive tensions between old-guard banks and private credit disrupters than genuine systemic risk.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2025
No big credit red flags, though corporate credit spreads are up off their lows in recent weeks and the nagging questions about a couple of private-debt blowups are on repeat.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell has returned to music for the first time since his now-former band’s infamous blow-up, with Farrell collaborating on a new song with techno musician Carl Cox.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 10 Oct. 2025
In this week's PEOPLE cover story, the designer opens up about the final blow-up that ended her relationship for the first time.
—Mackenzie Schmidt, PEOPLE, 2 Oct. 2025
Verb
The compact vacuum even blows up air mattresses and compresses vacuum storage bags.
—Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
In 1996, Independence Day caused a stir with a Super Bowl spot that showed an alien ship blowing up the White House.
—Aaron Couch, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for blowup
Cite this Entry
“Blowup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blowup. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
blowup
1 of 2 noun
blow·up
ˈblō-ˌəp 
blow up
2 of 2 verbˈblō-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
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