Phrasal Verb – Blow up.
Meaning 1 – To explode. To be destroyed by an explosion.
- This phrasal verb is separable.
- “The army is threatening to blow the airport up.”
Meaning 2 – To inflate something.
- This phrasal verb is separable.
- “I blew up the air mattress so we could sleep on it.”
Meaning 3 – (blow up at somebody) To suddenly become angry and start shouting at someone.
- This phrasal verb is not separable.
- “My dad blew up at me when he saw me hanging out with my friends instead of studying!”
Meaning 4 – To make a photograph bigger (by enlarging or zooming in).
- This phrasal verb is separable.
- “I blew up the picture of my family to hang on the wall.”
Meaning 5 – (informal) To become popular or successful very quickly.
- The phrasal verb is not separable.
- “This story is going to blow up if the photos are ever found!”
Meaning 6 – (informal) To overwhelm a device with calls, messages or some type of alert.
- This phrasal verb is separable.
- “My phone is blowing up with Twitter alerts after I posted that controversial message!”
In The News:
- See an Inflatable Astronaut Habitat Blow Up Until It Pops
- Demands to cast Henry Cavill for the next Wolverine blow up, but what about Hugh Jackman?
What is a phrasal verb?
A phrasal verb is a verb combined with 1 or 2 small words. These small words are particles. A particle can be a preposition or adverb. The phrasal verb has a different meaning from the verb alone because the particle changes the meaning of the verb.
Some phrasal verbs can be separated. When we change the tense of the phrasal verb we only modify the verb part. The particle remains the same.
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