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Webster 1913 Edition

Blast

Blast

(blȧst)
,
Noun.
[AS.
blǣst
a puff of wind, a blowing; akin to Icel.
blāstr
, OHG.
blāst
, and fr. a verb akin to Icel.
blāsa
to blow, OHG.
blâsan
, Goth.
blēsan
(in comp.); all prob. from the same root as E.
blow
. See
Blow
to eject air.]
1.
A violent gust of wind.
And see where surly Winter passes off,
Far to the north, and calls his ruffian
blasts
;
His
blasts
obey, and quit the howling hill.
Thomson.
2.
A forcible stream of air from an orifice, as from a bellows, the mouth, etc. Hence: The continuous blowing to which one charge of ore or metal is subjected in a furnace;
as, to melt so many tons of iron at a
blast
.
☞ The terms hot blast and cold blast are employed to designate whether the current is heated or not heated before entering the furnace. A blast furnace is said to be in blast while it is in operation, and out of blast when not in use.
3.
The exhaust steam from and engine, driving a column of air out of a boiler chimney, and thus creating an intense draught through the fire; also, any draught produced by the blast.
4.
The sound made by blowing a wind instrument; strictly, the sound produces at one breath.
One
blast
upon his bugle horn
Were worth a thousand men.
Sir W. Scott.
The
blast
of triumph o’er thy grave.
Bryant.
5.
A sudden, pernicious effect, as if by a noxious wind, especially on animals and plants; a blight.
By the
blast
of God they perish.
Job iv. 9.
Virtue preserved from fell destruction's
blast
.
Shakespeare
6.
The act of rending, or attempting to rend, heavy masses of rock, earth, etc., by the explosion of gunpowder, dynamite, etc.; also, the charge used for this purpose.
“Large blasts are often used.”
Tomlinson.
7.
A flatulent disease of sheep.
Blast furnace
,
a furnace, usually a shaft furnace for smelting ores, into which air is forced by pressure.
–
Blast hole
,
a hole in the bottom of a pump stock through which water enters.
–
Blast nozzle
,
a fixed or variable orifice in the delivery end of a blast pipe; – called also
blast orifice
.
–
In full blast
,
in complete operation; in a state of great activity. See
Blast
,
Noun.
, 2.
[Colloq.]

Blast

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Blasted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Blasting
.]
1.
To injure, as by a noxious wind; to cause to wither; to stop or check the growth of, and prevent from fruit-bearing, by some pernicious influence; to blight; to shrivel.
Seven thin ears, and
blasted
with the east wind.
Gen. xii. 6.
2.
Hence, to affect with some sudden violence, plague, calamity, or blighting influence, which destroys or causes to fail; to visit with a curse; to curse; to ruin;
as, to
blast
pride, hopes, or character
.
I'll cross it, though it
blast
me.
Shakespeare
Blasted
with excess of light.
T. Gray.
3.
To confound by a loud blast or din.
Trumpeters,
With brazen din
blast
you the city's ear.
Shakespeare
4.
To rend open by any explosive agent, as gunpowder, dynamite, etc.; to shatter;
as, to
blast
rocks
.

Blast

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To be blighted or withered;
as, the bud
blasted
in the blossom
.
2.
To blow; to blow on a trumpet.
[Obs.]
Toke his blake trumpe faste
And gan to puffen and to
blaste
.
Chaucer.

Webster 1828 Edition

Blast

BL'AST

,
Verb.
T.
[Literally, to strike.] To make to wither by some pernicious influence, as too much heat or moisture, or other destructive cause; or to check growth and prevent from coming to maturity and producing fruit; to blight, as trees or plants.
1.
To affect with some sudden violence,plague, calamity, or destructive influence, which destroys or causes to fail; as, to blast pride or hopes. The figurative senses of this verb are taken from the blasting of plants, and all express the idea of checking growth, preventing maturity, impairing, injuring, destroying, or disappointing of the intended effect; as, to blast credit, or reputation; to blast designs.
2.
To confound, or strike with force, by a loud blast or din.
3.
To split rocks by an explosion of gun powder.
They did not stop to blast this ore.

Definition 2024

blast

blast

See also: bläst, blåst, blæst, -blast, and blast-

English

Noun

blast ‎(plural blasts)

  1. A violent gust of wind.
    • Thomson
      And see where surly Winter passes off, / Far to the north, and calls his ruffian blasts; / His blasts obey, and quit the howling hill.
  2. A forcible stream of air from an orifice, for example from a bellows, the mouth, etc.
  3. The continuous blowing to which one charge of ore or metal is subjected in a furnace
    many tons of iron were melted at a blast
    • 1957, H.R. Schubert, History of the British Iron and Steel Industry, p. 146:
      Blast was produced by bellows worked by four 'blowers', three of whom worked at a time while the fourth stood ready to replace one of the others.
  4. The exhaust steam from an engine, driving a column of air out of a boiler chimney, and thus creating an intense draught through the fire; also, any draught produced by the blast.
  5. An explosion, especially for the purpose of destroying a mass of rock, etc.
    • 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion:
      Blast after blast, fiery outbreak after fiery outbreak, like a flaming barrage from within, […] most of Edison's grounds soon became an inferno.  As though on an incendiary rampage, the fires systematically devoured the contents of Edison's headquarters and facilities.
  6. An explosive charge for blasting.
    • Tomlinson
      Large blasts are often used.
  7. A loud, sudden sound.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      One blast upon his bugle horn / Were worth a thousand men.
    • Bryant
      the blast of triumph o'er thy grave
    • 1884: Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter VIII
      Then the captain sung out "Stand away!" and the cannon let off such a blast right before me that it made me deef with the noise and pretty near blind with the smoke, and I judged I was gone.
  8. A sudden, pernicious effect, as if by a noxious wind, especially on animals and plants; a blight.
    • Bible, Job iv. 9
      By the blast of God they perish.
    • Shakespeare
      virtue preserved from fell destruction's blast
  9. (figuratively, informal) A good time; an enjoyable moment.
    We had a blast at the party last night.
  10. (marketing) A promotional message sent to an entire mailing list.
    an e-mail blast; a fax blast
  11. A flatulent disease of sheep.
  12. (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) An algorithm for comparing primary biological sequence information.
Translations

Verb

blast ‎(third-person singular simple present blasts, present participle blasting, simple past and past participle blasted)

  1. (transitive) To confound by a loud blast or din.
    • Shakespeare
      Trumpeters, / With brazen din blast you the city's ear.
  2. (intransitive) To make a loud noise.
  3. (transitive) To shatter, as if by an explosion.
  4. (transitive) To open up a hole in, usually by means of a sudden and imprecise method (such as an explosion).
    Blast right through it.
  5. (transitive) To curse; to damn.
    Blast it! Foiled again.
  6. (transitive) (sci-fi) To shoot, especially with an energy weapon (as opposed to one which fires projectiles).
    Chewbacca blasted the Stormtroopers with his laser rifle.
  7. (soccer) To shoot; kick the ball in hope of scoring a goal.
    • 2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC:
      A Ricketts and Stuart Holden one-two around the box then created a decent chance for an almost instant equaliser - but Welsh full-back Ricketts blasted over when a calmer finish could have been rewarded.
  8. To criticize or reprimand severely; to verbally discipline or punish.
    My manager suddenly blasted me yesterday for being a little late to work for five days in a row, because I was never getting myself up on time.
  9. (transitive) To blight or wither.
    A cold wind blasted the rose plants.
  10. (intransitive, obsolete) To be blighted or withered.
    The bud blasted in the blossom.
  11. (obsolete, intransitive) To blow, for example on a trumpet.
    • Chaucer
      Toke his blake trumpe faste / And gan to puffen and to blaste.
Derived terms
Translations

Interjection

blast

  1. Blast it; damn it.
Translations

Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek βλαστός ‎(blastós, “germ or sprout”).

Noun

blast ‎(plural blasts)

  1. (cytology) An immature or undifferentiated cell (e.g., lymphoblast, myeloblast).
Derived terms
Translations

Anagrams

German

Verb

blast

  1. Second-person plural present of blasen.
  2. Imperative plural of blasen.

Irish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek βλαστός ‎(blastós, “germ or sprout”).

Noun

blast m ‎(genitive singular blast, nominative plural blastaí)

  1. (cytology) blast

Declension

Derived terms

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
blast bhlast mblast
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Swedish

Noun

blast c (definite form blasten)

  1. (uncountable) The stem and leaves of a vegetable, of which you're only supposed to eat the root. E.g. in potatoes or carrots.

Etymology

From Middle English blast from Old English blǣst ‎(“blowing, blast”), from Proto-Germanic *blēstaz, *blēstuz ‎(“blowing, blast”). Cognate with German Blast ‎(“wind, blowing”). More at blow.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) enPR: bläst, IPA(key): /blɑːst/
  • (US) enPR: blăst, IPA(key): /blæst/
  • Rhymes: -ɑːst
  • Rhymes: -æst

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