Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use blowback in a sentence

10 example sentences · noun

Blowback means a type of action where the pressure from the fired cartridge blows a sliding mechanism backward to extract the fired cartridge, chamber another cartridge, and cock the hammer. Example: “The Israeli UZI submachine gun, one the most easily recognized examples of a blowback firearm, is well known for its simplicity, ease of manufacture, low maintenance, and utter reliability.”

Examples of blowback by meaning

nounA type of action where the pressure from the fired cartridge blows a sliding mechanism backward to extract the fired...

  • The Israeli UZI submachine gun, one the most easily recognized examples of a blowback firearm, is well known for its simplicity, ease of manufacture, low maintenance, and utter reliability.2012, Robert E. Walker, Cartridges and Firearm Identification, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 24

nounAn unintended adverse result, especially of covert political action.

  • This phenomenon, known as blowback, was sharply criticized by the committees at the time, and the C.I.A. has since been required to take precautions so that such false information does not affect political debate in this country.1986 October 2, Stephen Engelberg, “U.S. Plan Against Qaddafi Is Said To Intensify”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
  • It is a story about blowback from Sunni Islamist extremists who went to Syria from various Arab countries and were allowed to assemble there in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.2008 October 17, “Syria's blowback problem”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

nounThe act of shotgunning (inhaling from a pipe etc. and exhaling into another smoker's mouth).

  • Paranoid I was being ripped off, I 'tested' the potency of the skunk on a wasp by trapping it under a glass, and giving it a blowback.2012, Caitlin Moran, Moranthology, Random House, →ISBN, page 41

nounOn a steam locomotive, the reversal of exhaust gases when the regulator is closed without using the blower.

  • In this country, if you shut the regulator without the blower on, the odds are there will be a blowback.1961 February, ""Balmore"", “Driving and firing modern French steam locomotives”, in Trains Illustrated, page 109

More sentences with blowback

  • The blowback and fear that 4B practitioners experience underscores their conviction that Korea is still a frightening place for women.2023 March 8, Anna Louie Sussman, “The women of South Korea's 4B movement aren't fighting the patriarchy — they're leaving it behind…. From the entry 4B
  • The cascabel was primarily used to attach ropes that secured the cannon during the recoil blowback that came from firing.2011, Chris Messner, Cuba Open from the Inside: Travels in the Forbidden Land. From the entry cascabel
  • Most of the e-mails were blowback from the departure of our divisional vice president, Crawford, who’d just jumped ship to Sony.2006, Joseph Finder, Killer Instinct, St. Martin's Press,, →ISBN, page 5. From the entry sony
  • This controversy, known as Dexit by the fans, might have prompted less blowback if Game Freak could show that its decision led to better graphics and performance.2022 November 18, Jhaan Elker, “After ‘Pokémon Scarlet’ and ‘Violet,’ we can’t give Game Freak a pass”, in The Washington Post. From the entry Dexit
  • But that hasn't stopped Beck's lawyers from trying to shut down the site -- resulting in more blowback and another manifestation of the dreaded Streisand Effect!2009 September 11, Jim Emerson, “Teaching the controversy”, Scanners, in Chicago Sun-Times, archived from the original on 15 Sep 2009. From the entry Streisand effect

Meaning of blowback

  1. noun A type of action where the pressure from the fired cartridge blows a sliding mechanism backward to extract the fired cartridge, chamber another cartridge, and cock the hammer.
  2. noun An unintended adverse result, especially of covert political action.
  3. noun The act of shotgunning (inhaling from a pipe etc. and exhaling into another smoker's mouth).

Full definition of blowback

Questions about blowback in a sentence

How do you use blowback in a sentence?
Blowback is used as a noun. For example: “The Israeli UZI submachine gun, one the most easily recognized examples of a blowback firearm, is well known for its simplicity, ease of manufacture, low maintenance, and utter reliability.”
What is a short sentence with blowback?
“In this country, if you shut the regulator without the blower on, the odds are there will be a blowback.”
What does blowback mean?
Blowback means a type of action where the pressure from the fired cartridge blows a sliding mechanism backward to extract the fired cartridge, chamber another cartridge, and cock the hammer.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: blowback (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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