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Definition blow up in American English

blow up phrasal verb

phrasal verb
1

if something blows up, or if someone blows something up, it explodes and is destroyed

Example

Terrorists had threatened to blow up the embassy.

Example

The boiler blew up, wrecking the entire building.

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2

to fill something with air or gas

Example

We blew up lots of balloons and hung them around the room.

Synonyms and related words
Example

They had blown up the picture to make a huge poster of his face.

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4

to suddenly become angry and shout at someone

Example

She just blew up at me.

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5

if a storm or strong wind blows up, it suddenly starts

Example

The race had to be canceled when the storm blew up.

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6

if your plans blow up in your face, they do not happen as you expected and cause a lot of problems

Synonyms and related words
Definition blow up in American English