blast

n. [ AS. bl&aemacr_;st a puff of wind, a blowing; akin to Icel. blāstr, OHG. blāst, and fr. a verb akin to Icel. blāsa to blow, OHG. blâsan, Goth. blēsan (in comp.); all prob. from the same root as E. blow. See Blow to eject air. ] 1. A violent gust of wind. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The sound made by blowing a wind instrument; strictly, the sound produces at one breath. [ 1913 Webster ]

One blast upon his bugle horn
Were worth a thousand men. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

The blast of triumph o'er thy grave. Bryant. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A sudden, pernicious effect, as if by a noxious wind, especially on animals and plants; a blight. [ 1913 Webster ]

By the blast of God they perish. Job iv. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

Virtue preserved from fell destruction's blast. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. A flatulent disease of sheep. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Seven thin ears, and blasted with the east wind. Gen. xii. 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

I'll cross it, though it blast me. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Blasted with excess of light. T. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To confound by a loud blast or din. [ 1913 Webster ]

Trumpeters,
With brazen din blast you the city's ear. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To rend open by any explosive agent, as gunpowder, dynamite, etc.; to shatter; as, to blast rocks. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Blighted; withered. [ 1913 Webster ]

Upon this blasted heath. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Confounded; accursed; detestable. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some of her own blasted gypsies. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Rent open by an explosive. [ 1913 Webster ]

The blasted quarry thunders, heard remote. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Blastemata [ Gr. bla`sthma bud, sprout. ] (Biol.) The structureless, protoplasmic tissue of the embryo; the primitive basis of an organ yet unformed, from which it grows. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Biol.) Relating to the blastema; rudimentary. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Biol.) Connected with, or proceeding from, the blastema; blastemal. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, blasts or destroys. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. blasto`s sprout, fr. &unr_; to grow. ] (Biol.) A small, clear space in the segments of the ovum, the precursor of the nucleus. [ 1913 Webster ]