blowup

1 of 3

noun

blow·​up ˈblō-ˌəp 

plural blowups

: a blowing up: such as

a

: explosion

b

: an outburst of temper

c

: enlargement sense 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

blow-up

2 of 3

adjective

ˈblō-ˌəp 

: 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

Sleeping 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

blow up

3 of 3

verb

blew up; blown up; blowing up; blows 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

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

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

Synonyms

Noun

• explosion
• fireworks
• fit
• hissy [chiefly Southern & southern Midland]
• hissy fit
• huff
• scene
• tantrum

Verb

• flare (up)
• flip (out) [slang]

Examples 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

Noun

So eventually, unspoken frustrations (socks on the floor, too many nights out, a pattern of flakiness) build into resentment, which can leak out in the form of unproductive, passive-aggressive comments or more explosive, potentially hurtful blowups. —Jenna Ryu, SELF, 24 Jan. 2025

The political fractures exposed by the MAGA blowup weren’t surprising to him. —John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025

Adjective

Steele was apologetic afterward for his blow-up and remained so on Saturday when speaking with reporters. —Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 19 Jan. 2025

Last week, residents discovered several of the cartoonish blow-up figures around town. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Jan. 2025

Verb

Despite all the positive moves for the Blue Jays, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller expects the Andrés Giménez trade to blow up in their faces. —Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2025

The November meeting unfolded under a cloud of controversy for Johnson, a former CTU organizer, that began when his power struggle against CPS CEO Pedro Martinez blew up in public. —Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 27 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1757, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1850, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1538, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

blowup

1 of 2 noun

blow·​up ˈblō-ˌəp 

1

: explosion sense 1

2

: an outburst of bad temper

3

: a photographic enlargement

blow up

2 of 2 verb

ˈblō-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