One syllable: blows.
/ˈbloʊz/
Say it backBlows is the third-person singular present tense of blow, meaning to exhale forcefully or to strike something with force. It can also function as the noun meaning a strike or gust. In most contexts it denotes active force in short bursts or a sudden impact, and phonetically it presents a single stressed syllable with a voiceless initial stop followed by a rounded vowel and voiced sibilant ending.
"The wind blows fiercely across the plain."
"He blows out the candles with a single breath."
"Her angry remark blows any chance of reconciliation."
Say it as /bloʊz/ (US) or /bləʊz/ (UK). Start with a light lip-rounding for the /oʊ/ diphthong, then finish with a clear, voiced /z/. The word is a single syllable: the initial /b/ is a brief, bilabial stop, the /l/ is light and alveolar, and the /z/ is a voiced continuant. In careful speech, keep the vowel glide steady from /o/ to /ʊ/ quality and snap the /z/ softly but distinctly.
Two common errors: 1) Replacing the /oʊ/ with a pure /o/ or /a/ vowel, making it “blohz” or “blahs.” 2) Devoicing the final /z/ to /s/ in fluent speech, producing “blows” that sounds like /bloːs/. Correction: keep the diphthong /oʊ/ intact by guiding air from mid-back to high-front position, and finish with a steady /z/ voiced fricative, not a voiceless /s/.
In US English, /bloʊz/ with a clearly rounded /oʊ/ and a pronounced /z/. UK English often has a slightly more centralized /əʊ/ or /əʊ/ quality and can be less lip-rounded depending on dialect; the /l/ tends to be light, and rhoticity is variable with adjacent sounds. Australian English resembles UK but with a more open /oʊ/ fronting and a more tappish /l/. Across all, the final /z/ remains voiced; the main differences come from the diphthongal quality and pre-consonantal vowel length.
Because it centers on a precise diphthong /oʊ/ that requires a smooth glide from /o/ to /ʊ/ and a crisp, voiced /z/ that carries voicing through the release. The onset /b/ must be held with stable lip closure while the /l/ blends quickly into the vowel, which can create subtle misarticulation if transitions are rushed. Tension in the jaw or inconsistent lip rounding can alter vowel quality and make the final z sound like an /s/.
A distinctive feature is the stabilized /bloʊ/ vowel nucleus with a sharp, voiced /z/ at the end, distinguishing it from similar words like ‘blows’ vs. ‘blows’ in different phrases (e.g., ‘blow’s’ as possessive) where the stress pattern isn’t changing, but phrase-level rhythm can. Additionally, the preceding /l/ must be clear and not absorbed into the /oʊ/; keep the tongue contact light and the /l/ audible.
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Blows derives from Old English blowan, meaning to blow or breathe out, which is related to the Proto-Germanic *blōwanan and Proto-Indo-European *bhlō–, signifying to blow or swell. The modern form develops through Old English as bloawan and blo wan, then Middle English blowen and eventually blow in the 16th century. The third-person singular present tense adds the -es ending from French-influenced English spelling conventions of the late Middle English period, signaling third-person agreement. The core meaning expanded from “to cause air to move with force” to “to strike with force” in some dialects, particularly in slang or idiomatic uses (blows it), though the primary senses remain tied to air movement and physical impact. First known written usage appears around the Old English period in phrases describing winds and breath, with later attestations in poetic and narrative texts illustrating gusts, weapon strikes, and metaphorical winds as force.
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Words that rhyme with "blows"
-ves sounds
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