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“Blew” or “Blue”

blew / blue are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term.

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Definitions

What each term means

Same sound, different spellings and meanings, shown with a pronunciation guide for each term.

blew b·l·UW

  • verbexhale hard.
  • verbbe blowing or storming.
  • verbfree of obstruction by blowing air through.
  • verbmake a sound as if blown.
  • verbshape by blowing.
  • verbspend lavishly or wastefully on.
  • verbsound by having air expelled through a tube.
  • verbplay or sound a wind instrument.
  • verbcause air to go in, on, or through.
  • verbcause to move by means of an air current.
  • verbspout moist air from the blowhole.
  • verblay eggs.
  • verbcause to be revealed and jeopardized.
  • verballow to regain its breath.
  • verbburst suddenly.

blue b·l·UW

  • nounblue color or pigment; resembling the color of the clear sky in the daytime.
  • nounblue clothing.
  • nounany organization or party whose uniforms or badges are blue.
  • nounany of numerous small butterflies of the family Lycaenidae.
  • verbturn blue.
  • adjectiveof the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky; - Helen Hunt Jackson.
  • adjectiveused to signify the Union forces in the American Civil War (who wore blue uniforms).
  • adjectivesuggestive of sexual impropriety.
  • adjectivemorally rigorous and strict.
  • adjectivecausing dejection.
Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“blew”

  • …Gardner as a power battery blew up in his face, putting…
  • …Hotel bombing: Members of Haganah blew up a hotel in west…
  • …TV, the Space Shuttle Challenger blew up nearly immediately above them.
  • …Hood and at 06:01 Hood blew up and sank, with the…
  • …fifty men from al-Bassa and blew some of them up with…
  • A flurry blew before the departure on May
  • …entered the engine room and blew out the ship's sides and…
  • Martha Bratton blew up her husband's cache of…
  • The Way the Wind Blew: A history of the weather
  • …towards the hostile tank and blew it thoroughly with his recoiless

“blue”

  • Kotaro Sakuma/Koguma Sky Blue
  • The blue keys in the middle are…
  • …were for capital letters, and blue keys in the center for…
  • …Red Orion, Sasori Orange, Ookami Blue, Oushi Black, Chameleon Green, and…
  • As the Ookami Blue, Garu's main weapon is the
  • Tom Waits - Blue Valentine (1978) - orchestra
  • The lower part is a blue ribbon contain the honorific "Tiger
  • Koguma Sky Blue has two finishers: via the…
  • He was named a 1999 Blue Chip athlete.
  • …is green, not the dark blue he currently wears."

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions are drawn from WordNet.

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