blowing out of the water
Crushing the competition
Blowing out of the water means defeating or surpassing so decisively that no competition remains.
The image comes from naval warfare—a ship blown out of the water is utterly destroyed: The new product blew the competition out of the water.
The phrase emphasizes not just winning but dominating: Her presentation blew everyone else's out of the water.
- obliterateDestroy all traces of
- triumphResounding, celebrated victory
- vanquishDefeat thoroughly in conflict
- annihilateDestroy completely, leaving nothing
- blow awayOverwhelm with amazement
success · contrast · victory · disparity · crush · decimate · supremacy · surpass · outshine · overwhelm · shockwave · blowout · trounce · demolish · leave in the dust · shellac · outperform · put to shame
blowing out of the waterphoto finish
Race decided by camera
neck and neck · narrow victory · too close to call · scraping by · nail-biter
blowing out of the watergoing down in flames
Failing catastrophically and publicly
blowing, blown, blower, outing, outer, water, waters, watered, watering