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devastating blow

blow Verb

— If wind, air, etc. blows, it moves. The wind is blowing and the trees are moving. The wind blew the paper down the street. — If something blows, the air moves it. His hat blew off. I could see some grass where the snow had blown away. Her gray hair blew across her face in the wind. Last fall, a storm blew through this town tearing up trees. — If you blow, you push air out of your mouth or nose. She blew her nose into a tissue. He put his mouth in the water and blew bubbles for a few seconds. He hopes to celebrate his 25th birthday by blowing out the candles. — If a horn, whistle, etc. blows, it makes a sound. When the final whistle blew, Arsenal had won the game 2 -- 0. — If something blows up, it explodes. The car blew up as it drove over the bomb. — If something blows you away, it surprises or impresses you. We were blown away. We couldnt believe that a ten-year-old could do that. — If you blow up, you get angry. I dropped the cake and she totally blew up on me. — If something blows up, it gets bigger. Can you blow that picture up a bit more? I can't see it clearly. — If something is blown off, away, or out, apart, etc., it is damaged by an explosion or a bullet. BANG! The shot blew off one of his fingers. The truck he was driving was blown apart by a roadside bomb. They put the guns to their heads and blew their brains out. The blast had blown a hole in the wall. — If you blow something, you do not do it successfully. I can't believe it. You almost had it, but you blew it. — If you blow money, you spend it, often without being careful. — If a piece of equipment blows, it stops working because there is an electrical problem. — If a tire blows, it gets a hole, letting out its air quickly. His little joke had been blown out of proportion and he'd gotten in a lot of trouble. The car blew a tire on the way to our campsite. — If something is blown out of proportion, it is exaggerated. — If you blow by something, you move past it very quickly. — If you blow someone, you perform oral sex on them.

blow Noun

— A blow is a hit. He spent two days in hospital after a serious blow to the head. The thought struck like a blow to the chest. — A blow is something bad that happens. The team was dealt a terrible blow when goalie Ryan Francis was killed. The final blow came when his wife left. To soften the blow, the government will send one-time payments to everyone involved. The town suffered a severe blow when the car factory shut down. — A blow is an action of blowing. He gave a quick blow on the whistle. — Cocaine.