gaze

American  

[geyz] / geɪz /

verb (used without object)

• gazes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• gazed,
  past participle,  past
• gazing
  present participle

1. to look steadily and intently, as with great curiosity, interest, pleasure, or wonder.

---

noun

• gazes
  plural

1. a steady or intent look.

2. Heraldry. at gaze, (of a deer or deerlike animal) represented as seen from the side with the head looking toward the spectator.

   a stag at gaze.

gaze British  

/ ɡeɪz /

verb

1. (intr) to look long and fixedly, esp in wonder or admiration

---

noun

1. a fixed look; stare

Synonym Usage

Gaze, stare, gape suggest looking fixedly at something. To gaze is to look steadily and intently at something, especially at that which excites admiration, curiosity, or interest: to gaze at scenery, at a scientific experiment. To stare is to gaze with eyes wide open, as from surprise, wonder, alarm, stupidity, or impertinence: to stare unbelievingly or rudely. Gape is a word with uncomplimentary connotations; it suggests open-mouthed, often ignorant or rustic wonderment or curiosity: to gape at a tall building or a circus parade.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• gazer
  noun
• outgaze
  verb (used with object)
• gazeless
  adjective
• ungazing
  adjective
• gazingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gazes
  plural

Participles

• gazing
  present
• gazed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• gaze
  simple
• gazes
  simple
• have gazed
  perfect
• has gazed
  perfect
• am gazing
  progressive
• are gazing
  progressive
• is gazing
  progressive
• have been gazing
  perfect progressive
• has been gazing
  perfect progressive

Past

• gazed
  simple
• had gazed
  perfect
• was gazing
  progressive
• were gazing
  progressive
• had been gazing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will gaze
  simple
• will have gazed
  perfect
• will be gazing
  progressive
• will have been gazing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of gaze

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English gasen; compare Norwegian, Swedish (dialect) gasa “to look”

Explanation

When someone lays eyes on you and keeps looking, it is a gaze or a stare. You can gaze back or just say, "Take a picture; it lasts longer." Gaze is both a verb and a noun. When people daydream, they often gaze off into the distance without focusing on anything. Another type of gaze, though, is to look very intently at something, as when you gaze at the sky making pictures out of clouds. A contest to see who will blink first means taking a long gaze into someone's eyes, and this type of gaze (the noun) will leave your eyes in a bit of a haze when you're done.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gaze gazes gazed gazing

The rest of the world’s leaders gaze at this spectacle in wonder.

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

She conjures a bewitching onscreen presence that many of her contemporaries could only dream of, pulling the viewer’s gaze with a single glare from her steely eyes or the quiver of her chin.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

While some gaze into the darkness of the Florida Strait, others try to sleep, making the most of the breeze coming in from the sea.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Soon after, Abehsera said in a June interview, the pair turned their gaze to the strip of undeveloped land 5 miles away, on the shore in Zvernec.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

The Raven Leader caught his gaze and held it, and Torak felt a rush of relief.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

On a boat off the coast of California, Sara Lesser gazes wistfully at dozens of dolphins playing in the vessel's wake.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

In a dream she gazes out from eyes like “great transparent marbles.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026

I mean an actor who gazes at their scene partner with such delight that we swoon, too.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2026

Lizbeth Perez looks fearful as she gazes out onto the postcard-perfect fishing bay of Taganga, on Colombia's Caribbean coast, recalling the moment she last spoke to her uncle in September.

From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2025

But if Rishi felt the heat of their gazes, he didn’t show it.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

Kaur appeared visibly upset in the dock as the verdict was read out, while Digwa showed little emotion and gazed out into the courtroom.

From BBC ● May 28, 2026

We gazed across the lobby at each other and shared smiles that suggested, “Sure. Why not?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026

In a story in “Ladies’ Lunch,” an old woman, disheveled after an outing, looks in a mirror and sees “what Diane Arbus might have seen. She gazed, appalled, and being appalled pricked her interest.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026

Thirty-five-year-old Javier Silva gazed longingly at a Yamaha parked on the street.

From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2026

The little girl took it without hesitation and gazed up at the kind headmistress with a trusting smile.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

"They say love isn't about two people gazing into each other's eyes, it is about two people gazing outwards in the same direction. I believe this with all my heart."

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

The shot of the battered Big Baby, one eyelid drooping, sitting on a swing gazing at the full moon, is far more chilling than anything in the “M3GAN” movies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

Yanzon, gazing into the water that has traveled a long way to reach his vineyard, says he doesn't oppose mining.

From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026

At the Louvre, the impulse is not to revere Franklin, gazing out from inside his vitrine, but to approach him—to bend down, to look him in the eye.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

Then, gazing up at the Mountain, he had seen a mass of green, then a strip of gleaming red-gold, then the cloud that hid the Mountain's tip.

From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda