Breathe vs Blow - What's the difference?
breathe | blow |
To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases.
To take in needed gases and expel waste gases in a similar way.
:Fish have gills so they can breathe underwater.
To use (a gas) to sustain life.
:While life as we know it depends on oxygen, scientists have speculated that alien life forms might breathe chlorine or methane.
Figuratively, to live.
:I will not allow it, as long as I still breathe .
*(rfdate) Shakespeare
*:I am in health, I breathe .
*(rfdate) Sir Walter Scott
*:Breathes there a man with soul so dead?
To draw something into the lungs.
:Try not to breathe too much smoke.
To expel air from the lungs, exhale.
:If you breathe on a mirror, it will fog up.
To pass like breath; noiselessly or gently; to emanate; to blow gently.
:The wind breathes through the trees.
*(rfdate) Shakespeare
*:The air breathes upon us here most sweetly.
*(rfdate) Byron
*:There breathes a living fragrance from the shore.
To give an impression of, to exude.
:The decor positively breathes classical elegance.
To whisper quietly.
:He breathed the words into her ear, but she understood them all.
To exchange gases with the environment.
:Garments made of certain new materials breathe well and keep the skin relatively dry during exercise.
To rest; to stop and catch one's breath.
*:
*:Thenne they lasshed to gyder many sad strokes / & tracyd and trauercyd now bakward / now sydelyng hurtlyng to gyders lyke two bores / & that same tyme they felle both grouelyng to the erthe / Thus they fought styll withoute ony reposynge two houres and neuer brethed
*(rfdate) Shakespeare
*:Well! breathe awhile, and then to it again!
To stop, to give (a horse) an opportunity to catch its breath.
:At higher altitudes you need to breathe your horse more often.
Blue.
To produce an air current.
* 1606 , , King Lear , act 3, sc. 2:
* Walton
To propel by an air current.
To be propelled by an air current.
To create or shape by blowing; as in to blow bubbles'', ''to blow glass .
To force a current of air upon with the mouth, or by other means.
To clear of contents by forcing air through.
To cause to make sound by blowing, as a musical instrument.
To make a sound as the result of being blown.
* Milton
(of a cetacean) To exhale visibly through the spout the seawater which it has taken in while feeding.
To explode.
To cause to explode, shatter, or be utterly destroyed.
To cause sudden destruction of.
To suddenly fail destructively.
(slang) To be very undesirable (see also suck).
(slang) To recklessly squander.
(vulgar) To fellate.
To leave.
To make flyblown, to defile, especially with fly eggs.
* 1606 , , Act V, scene 2, line 55.
* 1610 , , act 3 scene 1
(obsolete) To spread by report; to publish; to disclose.
* Dryden
* Whiting
(obsolete) To inflate, as with pride; to puff up.
* Shakespeare
To breathe hard or quick; to pant; to puff.
* Shakespeare
To put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue.
(obsolete) To talk loudly; to boast; to storm.
* Bartlett
A strong wind.
(informal) A chance to catch one’s breath.
(uncountable, US, slang) Cocaine.
(uncountable, UK, slang) Cannabis.
(uncountable, US Chicago Regional, slang) Heroin.
The act of striking or hitting.
A sudden or forcible act or effort; an assault.
* T. Arnold
A damaging occurrence.
* Shakespeare
* {{quote-news, year=2011
, date=April 15
, author=Saj Chowdhury
, title=Norwich 2 - 1 Nott'm Forest
, work=BBC Sport
To blossom; to cause to bloom or blossom.
* 1599 ,
* 1667 ,
* 1784 , William Cowper, Tirocinium; or, A Review of Schools
* '>citation
As verbs the difference between breathe and blow
is that breathe is to draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases while blow is to produce an air current or blow can be to blossom; to cause to bloom or blossom.As an adjective blow is
blue.As a noun blow is
a strong wind or blow can be the act of striking or hitting or blow can be a mass or display of flowers; a yield.breathe
English
Verb
Synonyms
* (to draw air in and out) seeDerived terms
* *Anagrams
* * 1000 English basic wordsblow
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) blo, bloo, from (etyl) .Adjective
(en-adj)Etymology 2
From (etyl) blowen, from (etyl) ).Verb
- "Blow', winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! ' blow !"
- Hark how it rains and blows !
- Blow the dust off that book and open it up.
- The leaves blow through the streets in the fall.
- to blow the fire
- to blow an egg
- to blow one's nose
- In the harbor, the ships' horns blew .
- There let the pealing organ blow .
- There's nothing more thrilling to the whale watcher than to see a whale surface and blow .
- There she blows ! (i.e. "I see a whale spouting!")
- Get away from that burning gas tank! It's about to blow !
- The demolition squad neatly blew the old hotel up.
- The aerosol can was blown to bits.
- He blew the tires and the engine.
- He tried to sprint, but his ligaments blew and he was barely able to walk to the finish line.
- This blows !
- I managed to blow $1000 at blackjack in under an hour.
- I blew $35 thou on a car.
- We blew an opportunity to get benign corporate sponsorship.
- Who did you have to blow to get those backstage passes?
- Let's blow this joint.
- Shall they hoist me up,
And show me to the shouting varletry
Of censuring Rome? Rather a ditch in Egypt
Be gentle grave unto me, rather on Nilus' mud
Lay me stark naked, and let the water-flies
Blow me into abhorring!
- (FERDINAND)
- I am, in my condition,
- A prince, Miranda; I do think, a king;—
- I would not so!—and would no more endure
- This wooden slavery than to suffer
- The flesh-fly blow my mouth.
- Through the court his courtesy was blown .
- His language does his knowledge blow .
- Look how imagination blows him.
- Here is Mistress Page at the door, sweating and blowing .
- to blow a horse
- (Sir Walter Scott)
- You blow behind my back, but dare not say anything to my face.
Derived terms
* blow a gasket * blow a kiss * blow apart * blow away * blower * blowhard * blow hot and cold * blowhorn * blow it * blowjob * blow me * blow off * blow off steam * blow one's horn * blow one's nose * blow one's top * blow one's trumpet * blow out * blowout * blow over * blow someone out of the water * blow someone's brains out * blow someone's mind * blow someone's socks off * blow the whistle * blow up * blow upon * blowup * blow up in one's face * glassblower * mind-blowing * there she blowsNoun
(en noun)- We're having a bit of a blow this afternoon.
- The players were able to get a blow during the last timeout.
Etymology 3
(etyl) blowe, blaw, northern variant of , Middle Dutch blouwen). Related to block.Noun
(en noun)- A fabricator is used to direct a sharp blow to the surface of the stone.
- During an exchange to end round 13, Duran landed a blow to the midsection.
- A vigorous blow might win [Hanno's camp].
- A further blow to the group came in 1917 when Thomson died while canoeing in Algonquin Park.
- a most poor man, made tame to fortune's blows
citation, page= , passage=Norwich returned to second in the Championship with victory over Nottingham Forest, whose promotion hopes were dealt another blow .}}
Synonyms
* (The act of striking) bace, strike, hit, punch * (A damaging occurrence) disaster, calamityDerived terms
* blow-by-blow * body blow * come to blows * low blowEtymology 4
(etyl) blowen, from (etyl) 'to bloom').Verb
- You seem to me as in her orb,
- As chaste as is the bud ere it be blown ;
- How blows the citron grove.
- Boys are at best but pretty buds unblown ,
- Whose scent and hues are rather guessed than known;