blew up

past tense of blow up
1
2
as in exploded
to break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure the building blew up because of a gas leak

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
as in shattered
to cause to break open or into pieces by or as if by an explosive blew up the biggest rocks and then cleared them away

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

4

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of blew up But last year, their relationship blew up amid a turf war over CPS employees. Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026 Israeli forces occupying the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah in southern Lebanon also blew up buildings including a municipal building and a children’s nursery, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported. ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026 How The Shards original adaptation blew up at HBO — and ended up in Ryan Murphy’s hands; THR looks at all the actors lobbying to star in the X-Men reboot. Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026 To Jones’ point, Uwazurike single-handedly blew up one run-sweep to Harvey in a 9-on-7 period, arriving in the backfield the near second Harvey even touched the ball. Luca Evans, Denver Post, 5 Aug. 2026 Linebacker Daiyan Henley blew up a carry from running back Kimani Vidal. Daniel Popper, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026 How about this social media post from NASCAR that absolutely blew up the internet over the weekend? Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026 As their last retreating act, Hussein’s soldiers blew up some 700 Kuwaiti oil wells, painting the sky black with smoke and igniting unchecked fires that burned for 10 months. Wuft News, Miami Herald, 29 July 2026 Specifically in New York, a Swedish candy store called Bon Bon blew up and had influencers creating ASMR taste test videos. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blew up
Verb
  • They were angered by Armenia's agreement to hand over control of several border villages to Azerbaijan and normalize relations with its neighbor after being locked for decades in territorial disputes.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 9 Aug. 2026
  • The two exchanged words, and a Gilman shove angered Walker, who tackled him to the ground.
    Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 8 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Taylor joined the Bravo series in its latest season, which later exploded into scandal and earned its first Emmy nomination in the outstanding unstructured reality program category.
    Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 11 Aug. 2026
  • In seconds, her neighbor's home across the street exploded and went up in flames.
    Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Twin earthquakes in June shattered Venezuela’s coastal state of La Guaira, transforming a Caribbean playground into a landscape of ruin and grief.
    Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The east Charlotte shooting left church and school bus windows shattered and children crying.
    Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 14 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Here, Lauren Houser, vice president of marketing at cleaning solutions company Zep in Atlanta, Georgia, highlights six common hacks that really aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.
    Sarah Lyon, Southern Living, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Being at the top of your game and winning on the biggest stages isn’t always all it's cracked up to be.
    Sean Joseph OutKick, FOXNews.com, 13 July 2026
Verb
  • Meanwhile, the tech industry's multitrillion-dollar spending spree on data centers and AI infrastructure has snarled supply chains.
    Matt Peterson,Kate Rooney, CNBC, 12 Aug. 2026
  • After the upheaval of the coronavirus pandemic, followed by the writers’ and actors’ strikes that snarled the production pipeline, many industry observers feared that Zoomers were a lost demographic.
    Sophia Nguyen, The Atlantic, 2 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The business daily Kommersant reported that the bomb, hidden in a gift box, was probably detonated remotely and the woman carrying it could have been unaware of the content.
    ABC News, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026
  • The committee said the woman was stopped by security before the bomb was detonated near the restaurant's entrance.
    Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • When Rigo arrived and asked about the minivan, he was shown a video of the crime scene being picked up and smashed to pieces.
    Lauren Clark, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • At a red light, one officer rushed out of the patrol car, smashed the driver’s-side window and pulled the driver to the ground.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Trump announced last month that there had been a breakthrough in his plan to end the war, with Israeli forces withdrawing as Hamas disarms and an International Stabilization Force working with a new Palestinian police force to secure the enclave.
    Anniek Bao, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Brian’s Angels, a nonprofit homeless outreach in Bristol, announced that its community center will be closing at the end of August after 11 years.
    Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 10 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Blew up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blew%20up. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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