blow a fuse

verb

To overload a circuit sufficiently that a fuse protecting it melts away (or informally a circuit breaker trips), stopping current from flowing.

“When he learned that his daughter had eloped, he blew a fuse.”

Similar
Note: All terms are idiomatic unless stated otherwise.blow a gasketblow one's stackblow one's topcrash outcut up nastycut up roughdo one's block
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Meanings

verbblow a fuse (third-person singular simple present blows a fuse, present participle blowing a fuse, simple past blew a fuse, past participle blown a fuse)

present singular third person blows a fuse · participle present blowing a fuse · past blew a fuse · participle past blown a fuse

  1. businessTo overload a circuit sufficiently that a fuse protecting it melts away (or informally a circuit breaker trips), stopping current from flowing.
  2. idiomaticinformalTo lose one's temper; to become enraged.

    When he learned that his daughter had eloped, he blew a fuse.

    Synonyms: Note: All terms are idiomatic unless stated otherwise., blow a gasket, blow one's stack, blow one's top, crash out, cut up nasty, cut up rough, do one's block

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo lose one's temper; to become enraged.

Similar
Note: All terms are idiomatic unless stated otherwise.blow a gasketblow one's stackblow one's topcrash outcut up nastycut up roughdo one's blockdo one's nutflip one's lidflip one's wigflip outfly into a ragefly off the handleforget oneselfget bent out of shapeget one's back upget one's dander upget one's Irish up

More synonyms by meaning

verbget very angry and fly into a rage

Similar
flip one's lidblow upthrow a fithit the roofhit the ceilinghave kittenshave a fitcombustblow one's stackfly off the handleflip one's wiglose one's tempergo ballistic
Broader
rage
Also see
blow a gasketblow one's stackblow upcombustflip one's lidflip one's wigfly off the handlego ballisticgo postalgo snakehave a fithave kittenshit the rooflose one's temperthrow a fit

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

French faire sauter les plombs, péter les plombs
  • faire sauter les plombsto cause an electrical circuit to break open by overloading it
  • péter les plombsto lose one's temper
German eine Sicherung durchbrennen, an die Decke gehen
  • eine Sicherung durchbrennento cause an electrical circuit to break open by overloading it
  • an die Decke gehento lose one's temper
Japanese プッツンする
  • プッツンする (puttsun suru)to lose one's temper
Welsh chwythu ffiws
  • chwythu ffiwsto cause an electrical circuit to break open by overloading it
Cite this entry
APA

blow a fuse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blow%20a%20fuse

MLA

“blow a fuse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blow%20a%20fuse. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blow a fuse,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blow%20a%20fuse.

Source: blow a fuse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.