Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A very strong gust of wind or air.
  • noun The effect of such a gust.
  • noun A forcible stream of air, gas, or steam from an opening, especially one in a blast furnace to aid combustion.
  • noun A sudden loud sound, especially one produced by a stream of forced air.
  • noun The act of producing such a sound.
  • noun A violent explosion, as of dynamite or a bomb.
  • noun The violent effect of such an explosion, consisting of a wave of increased atmospheric pressure followed immediately by a wave of decreased pressure.
  • noun An explosive charge.
  • noun Botany Any of several plant diseases of diverse causes, resulting in sudden death of buds, flowers, foliage, or young fruits.
  • noun A destructive or damaging influence.
  • noun A powerful hit, blow, or shot.
  • noun A violent verbal assault or outburst.
  • noun Slang A highly exciting or pleasurable experience or event, such as a big party.
  • intransitive verb To knock down or shatter by explosion; smash.
  • intransitive verb To play or sound loudly.
  • intransitive verb To cause to move with great force; hurl.
  • intransitive verb To make or open by explosion.
  • intransitive verb To shoot or destroy by shooting.
  • intransitive verb Sports To hit, kick, or shoot (a ball or puck) with great force.
  • intransitive verb To have a harmful or destructive effect on.
  • intransitive verb To criticize or attack vigorously.
  • intransitive verb To cause to shrivel, wither, or mature imperfectly by blast or blight.
  • intransitive verb To use or detonate explosives.
  • intransitive verb To emit a loud, intense sound; blare.
  • intransitive verb To discharge a weapon. especially repeatedly; shoot.
  • intransitive verb To attack someone or something verbally; criticize.
  • intransitive verb To move with great speed or power.
  • intransitive verb Electronics To distort sound recording or transmission by overloading a microphone or loudspeaker.
  • intransitive verb To wither or shrivel or mature imperfectly.
  • idiom (full blast) At full speed, volume, or capacity.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • See blasto-.
  • To blow; puff; breathe hard; pant.
  • To smoke tobacco.
  • To boast; brag; speak ostentatiously.
  • To wither; be blighted.
  • To burst as by an explosion; blow up.
  • To blow forth or abroad; hence, to utter loudly; proclaim.
  • To break or tear to pieces (rocks or similar materials) by the agency of gunpowder or other explosive.
  • To confound or stun by a loud blast or din; split; burst.
  • To blow or breathe on so as to injure, as a sudden gust or destructive wind; cause to fade, shrivel, or wither; check the growth of and prevent from coming to maturity and producing fruit; blight, as trees or plants.
  • To blight or cause to come to nothing, as by some pernicious influence; bring destruction, calamity, or infamy upon; ruin: as, to blast pride, hopes, reputation, happiness.
  • To curse; strike with the wrath of heaven.
  • noun A subtle kind of matter supposed by Van Helmont, a Dutch mystic philosopher, to be radiated from the stars and to produce effects opposite to those of heat.
  • noun In zoology, one of the spindle-shaped, spore-like bodies in the life-cycle of certain Sporozoa, such as the malarial parasite.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English blǣst; see bhlē- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English blast from Old English blǣst ("blowing, blast"). More at blow.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek βλαστός (blastos, "germ or sprout").

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