blow away

English

Pronunciation

Audio (General Australian): (file)

Verb

blow away (third-person singular simple present blows away, present participle blowing away, simple past blew away, past participle blown away)

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see blow,‎ away.
(transitive) To cause to go away by blowing, or by wind.
He blew away the dust which had collected on the book.
- 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, New York Times, retrieved 31 October 2012:
  Perhaps as startling as the sheer toll was the devastation to some of the state’s well-known locales. Boardwalks along the beach in Seaside Heights, Belmar and other towns on the Jersey Shore were blown away. Amusement parks, arcades and restaurants all but vanished. Bridges to barrier islands buckled, preventing residents from even inspecting the damage to their property.
(intransitive) To disperse or to depart on currents of air.
I didn't have to rake. The leaves just blew away.
(transitive, idiomatic) To kill (someone) by shooting them with a firearm.
The kid just blew the clerk away.
(transitive, idiomatic, US) To flabbergast; to impress greatly.
The critics were blown away by their latest album.
(transitive) To overwhelm.
- 2011 February 5, Paul Fletcher, “Newcastle 4 - 4 Arsenal”, in BBC‎^[1]:
  Newcastle were completely blown away during the opening half of the match but worked up a head of steam after the interval that saw them score four goals in 19 minutes against a bruised and beleaguered Arsenal.
(transitive) To cause to go away, to get rid of
- 2011 October 23, Tom Fordyce, “2011 Rugby World Cup final: New Zealand 8-7 France”, in BBC Sport‎^[2]:
  And when skipper Richie McCaw hoisted the Webb Ellis Trophy high into the night, a quarter of a century of hurt was blown away in an explosion of fireworks and cheering.
(transitive, computing, informal) To delete (data, files, etc.).