BLAST

blast

(noun) a very long fly ball

fire, attack, flak, flack, blast

(noun) intense adverse criticism; “Clinton directed his fire at the Republican Party”; “the government has come under attack”; “don’t give me any flak”

bang, clap, eruption, blast, bam

(noun) a sudden very loud noise

blast

(noun) an explosion (as of dynamite)

gust, blast, blow

(noun) a strong current of air; “the tree was bent almost double by the gust”

blast

(verb) shrivel or wither or mature imperfectly

blast, knock down

(verb) shatter as if by explosion

savage, blast, pillory, crucify

(verb) criticize harshly or violently; “The press savaged the new President”; “The critics crucified the author for plagiarizing a famous passage”

blast, shoot

(verb) fire a shot; “the gunman blasted away”

blast, shell

(verb) use explosives on; “The enemy has been shelling us all day”

smash, nail, boom, blast

(verb) hit hard; “He smashed a 3-run homer”

blast

(verb) make with or as if with an explosion; “blast a tunnel through the Alps”

blast, shell

(verb) create by using explosives; “blast a passage through the mountain”

blast

(verb) apply a draft or strong wind to to; “the air conditioning was blasting cold air at us”

blast, blare

(verb) make a strident sound; “She tended to blast when speaking into a microphone”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology 1

Noun

blast (plural blasts)

A violent gust of wind.

A forcible stream of gas or liquid from an orifice, for example from a bellows, the mouth, etc.

A hit from a pipe.

The continuous blowing to which one charge of ore or metal is subjected in a furnace

The exhaust steam from an engine, driving a column of air out of a boiler chimney, and thus creating an intense draught through the fire; also, any draught produced by the blast.

An explosion, especially for the purpose of destroying a mass of rock, etc.

An explosive charge for blasting.

A loud, sudden sound.

A sudden, pernicious effect, as if by a noxious wind, especially on animals and plants; a blight.

(figuratively, informal) A good time; an enjoyable moment.

(marketing) A promotional message sent to an entire mailing list.

A flatulent disease of sheep.

Etymology 2

Verb

blast (third-person singular simple present blasts, present participle blasting, simple past and past participle blasted)

(transitive) To make an impression on, by making a loud blast or din.

(intransitive) To make a loud noise.

(transitive) To shatter, as if by an explosion.

(transitive) To open up a hole in, usually by means of a sudden and imprecise method (such as an explosion).

(transitive) To curse; to damn.

(transitive) (sci-fi) To shoot, especially with an energy weapon (as opposed to one which fires projectiles).

(soccer) To shoot; kick the ball in hope of scoring a goal.

To criticize or reprimand severely; to verbally discipline or punish.

(transitive) To blight or wither.

(intransitive, obsolete) To be blighted or withered.

(obsolete, intransitive) To blow, for example on a trumpet.

Interjection

blast

(chiefly British, informal) To show displeasure; damn

Usage notes

Can be used on its own or in the form "blast it!".

Etymology 3

Noun

blast (plural blasts)

(cytology) An immature or undifferentiated cell (e.g, lymphoblast, myeloblast).

Etymology 4

Verb

blast (third-person singular simple present blasts, present participle blasting, simple past and past participle blasted)

(biology, informal, transitive) To run a nucleotide sequence (for nucleic acids) or an amino acid sequence (for proteins) through a BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool).

Anagrams

• Balts, blats

Etymology

An acronym of Basic Local Alignment Search Tool.

Noun

BLAST (uncountable)

(biology) An algorithm which compares similarities between sequences of nucleotides in nucleic acids or of amino acids in proteins.

Verb

BLAST (third-person singular simple present BLASTs, present participle BLASTing, simple past and past participle BLASTed)

(biology, informal, transitive) Alternative letter-case form of blast (to run a sequence through BLAST)

Anagrams

• Balts, blats

Source: Wiktionary

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-blast. Etym: [Gr. sprout, shoot.]

Definition: A suffix or terminal formative, used principally in biological terms, and signifying growth, formation; as, bioblast, epiblast, mesoblast, etc.

Blast, n. Etym: [AS. bl a puff of wind, a blowing; akin to Icel. blastr, OHG. blast, and fr. a verb akin to Icel. blasa to blow, OHG. blâsan, Goth. bl (in comp.); all prob. from the same root as E. blow. See Blow to eject air.]

1. A violent gust of wind. And see where surly Winter passes off, Far to the north, and calls his ruffian blasts; His blasts obey, and quit the howling hill. Thomson.

2. A forcible stream of air from an orifice, as from a bellows, the mouth, etc. Hence: The continuous blowing to which one charge of ore or metal is subjected in a furnace; as, to melt so many tons of iron at a blast.

Note: The terms hot blast and cold blast are employed to designate whether the current is heated or not heated before entering the furnace. A blast furnace is said to be in blast while it is in operation, and out of blast when not in use.

3. The exhaust steam from and engine, driving a column of air out of a boiler chimney, and thus creating an intense draught through the fire; also, any draught produced by the blast.

4. The sound made by blowing a wind instrument; strictly, the sound produces at one breath. One blast upon his bugle horn Were worth a thousand men. Sir W. Scott. The blast of triumph o'er thy grave. Bryant.

5. A sudden, pernicious effect, as if by a noxious wind, especially on animals and plants; a blight. By the blast of God they perish. Job iv. 9. Virtue preserved from fell destruction's blast. Shak.

6. The act of rending, or attempting to rend, heavy masses of rock, earth, etc., by the explosion of gunpowder, dynamite, etc.; also, the charge used for this purpose. "Large blasts are often used." Tomlinson.

7. A flatulent disease of sheep. Blast furnace, a furnace, usually a shaft furnace for smelting ores, into which air is forced by pressure.

– Blast hole, a hole in the bottom of a pump stock through which water enters.

– Blast nozzle, a fixed or variable orifice in the delivery end of a blast pipe; -- called also blast orifice.

– In full blast, in complete operation; in a state of great activity. See Blast, n., 2. [Colloq.]

Blast, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blasted; p. pr. & vb. n. Blasting.]

1. To injure, as by a noxious wind; to cause to wither; to stop or check the growth of, and prevent from fruit-bearing, by some pernicious influence; to blight; to shrivel. Seven thin ears, and blasted with the east wind. Gen. xii. 6.

2. Hence, to affect with some sudden violence, plague, calamity, or blighting influence, which destroys or causes to fail; to visit with a curse; to curse; to ruin; as, to blast pride, hopes, or character. I'll cross it, though it blast me. Shak. Blasted with excess of light. T. Gray.

3. To confound by a loud blast or din. Trumpeters, With brazen din blast you the city's ear. Shak.

4. To rend open by any explosive agent, as gunpowder, dynamite, etc.; to shatter; as, to blast rocks.

Blast, v. i.

1. To be blighted or withered; as, the bud blasted in the blossom.

2. To blow; to blow on a trumpet. [Obs.] Toke his blake trumpe faste And gan to puffen and to blaste. Chaucer.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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