blower

plural blowers

1. A person who blows.
2. businessA fissure from which firedamp issues, often in quantity for many years.

   The great sources of fire-damp in coal mines are blowers or fissures from which currents of this inflammable gas issue in considerable quantities and for a long series of years

   1843, Humphry Davy, “On the fire-damp of coal mines, and on methods of lighting the mines so as to prevent its explosion”, in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, number 31 December 1833 volume 2, republished online 1 January 1997

   Synonyms: feeder

3. Any device that blows; often, especially, a furnace component or a supercharger.

   The locomotive […] was quietly "blowing off" on one Ross "pop" valve, whilst the rhythmic clanging of the fireman's shovel, the black smoke pouring from her chimney, and the harsh sound of the blower told of the proximity of departure time.

   1942 July–August, Philip Spencer, “On the Footplate in Egypt”, in Railway Magazine, page 208

   1. A ducted fan, usually part of a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning system.

      The three motors on each bogie are force ventilated from a blower mounted in the adjacent nose-end compartment of the superstructure, the air being led by ducts and flexible bellows connections to the air inlet at the commutator end of the motor.

      1958 June 28, “Main-Line Diesel-Electric Locomotives for the Eastern Region”, in Railway Magazine, page 394

4. AustraliaIrelandNew ZealandUKslangusually preceded by theTelephone.

   Get on the blower and call headquarters right away!

   1 more example

   I got off the blower oozing no confidence at all.

   1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, page 144

   1. AustraliaIrelandNew ZealandUKhistoricalslangusually preceded by theA telephone service providing betting odds and commentary, relayed to customers in a bookmaker's shop via loudspeaker.
5. datedA braggart, or loud talker.

   There hangs something majestic about a man who has borne his part in battles, especially if he is very quiet regarding it when you desire him to unbosom. I am continually lost at the absence of blowing and blowers among these old-young American militaires.

   1999, John Harmon McElroy, editor, The Sacrificial Years: A Chronicle of Walt Whitman's Experiences in the Civil War, page 29

6. nauticalThe whale; so called from its habit of spouting up a column of water.
7. A small fish of the Atlantic coast, Sphoeroides maculatus; the puffer.
8. USslangA gun.

plural Blowers

1. A surname originating as an occupation.