Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- the escape to the rear of gases formed during the firing of a weapon or in a boiler, internal-combustion engine, etc
- the action of a light automatic weapon in which the expanding gases of the propellant force back the bolt, thus reloading the weapon
also blow-back, 1883, in reference to flames in enclosed spaces (firearms, furnaces, etc.), from blow (v.1) + back (adv.). Sense in reference to convert actions, etc., is from 1978.