blow up Meaning, Definition & Usage

1. verb cause to burst with a violent release of energy
   explode; detonate; set off.
   
   • We exploded the nuclear bomb
2. verb make large
   enlarge; magnify.
   
   • blow up an image
3. verb get very angry and fly into a rage
   hit the roof; flip one's lid; have kittens; fly off the handle; go ballistic; flip one's wig; hit the ceiling; throw a fit; blow one's stack; lose one's temper; combust; blow a fuse; have a fit.
   
   • The professor combusted when the student didn't know the answer to a very elementary question
   • Spam makes me go ballistic
4. verb add details to
   dramatize; dramatise; embellish; pad; embroider; lard; aggrandise; aggrandize.
   
5. verb burst and release energy as through a violent chemical or physical reaction
   detonate; explode.
   
   • the bomb detonated at noon
   • The Molotov cocktail exploded
6. verb exaggerate or make bigger
   inflate; expand; amplify.
   
   • The charges were inflated
7. verb fill with gas or air
   inflate.
   
   • inflate a balloons
8. verb to swell or cause to enlarge, "Her faced puffed up from the drugs"
   puff up; puff; puff out.
   
   • puffed out chests

WordNet