What does "blow up" mean?
"Blow up" has several meanings - from exploding to getting angry to going viral. Here's how context changes this phrasal verb.
Multiple meanings - context is everything
1. To explode or cause an explosion
"The car blew up after the crash."
"The bomb was blown up by the disposal unit."
2. To get very angry
"He blew up at me over nothing." (lost his temper)
"She's going to blow up when she finds out." (become furious)
"I'm sorry I blew up - I shouldn't have reacted like that."
3. To inflate
"Can you blow up these balloons?"
"The dinghy is blown up and ready."
4. To enlarge a photo
"She blew up the image to poster size."
5. To go viral or become very popular suddenly
"That video completely blew up overnight." (modern, social media)
"His account blew up after that post."
Separable (meanings 2β4)
"Blow up the balloons." β / "Blow the balloons up." β
Not separable (meanings 1, 5 - intransitive)
"The building blew up." (no object)
What does "blow up" mean?
"Blow up" has several meanings - from exploding to getting angry to going viral. Here's how context changes this phrasal verb.
Phrasal verbs are one of the hardest parts of English to master.
LLH Tutor explains them in plain language, so you know exactly when and how to use each one.
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