breeze
1 Americannoun
-
a wind or current of air, especially a light or moderate one.
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a wind of 4–31 miles per hour (2–14 meters per second).
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Informal. an easy task; something done or carried on without difficulty.
Finding people to join in the adventure was a breeze.
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Chiefly British Informal. a disturbance or quarrel.
verb (used without object)
-
breezes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
breezed,
past participle, past
-
breezing
present participle
-
(of the wind) to blow a breeze (usually used impersonally with it as subject).
It breezed from the west all day.
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to move in a self-confident or jaunty manner.
She breezed up to the police officer and asked for directions.
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Informal. to proceed quickly and easily; move rapidly without intense effort (often followed by along, into, orthrough ).
He breezed through the task.
The car breezed along the highway.
verb (used with object)
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breezes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
breezed,
past participle, past
-
breezing
present participle
verb phrase
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breeze in
-
to win effortlessly.
He breezed in with an election plurality of 200,000.
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Also breeze intoout. to move or act with a casual or careless attitude.
He breezed out without paying attention to anyone.
-
-
breeze up to become windy.
idioms
noun
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cinders, ash, or dust from coal, coke, or charcoal.
-
concrete, brick, or cinder block in which such materials form a component.
noun
-
a gentle or light wind
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meteorol a wind of force two to six inclusive on the Beaufort scale
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informal an easy task or state of ease
being happy here is a breeze
-
informal a disturbance, esp a lively quarrel
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informal to chat
verb
-
to move quickly or casually
he breezed into the room
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(of wind) to blow
the south wind breezed over the fields
noun
noun
Synonym Usage
See wind 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
breezesimple
-
breezessimple
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have breezedperfect
-
has breezedperfect
-
am breezingprogressive
-
are breezingprogressive
-
is breezingprogressive
-
have been breezingperfect progressive
-
has been breezingperfect progressive
Past
-
breezedsimple
-
had breezedperfect
-
was breezingprogressive
-
were breezingprogressive
-
had been breezingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of breeze1
First recorded in 1555–65; earlier brize, brise “north or northeast wind”; compare Dutch bries, East Frisian brîse, French brize, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan brisa, Italian brezza; further origin uncertain
Origin of breeze2
First recorded in 1720–30; variant of dialect brays, from French braise “live coals, cinders”; see braze 2
Explanation
A breeze is a light, cool wind. One of the nicest things about being at the beach on a hot summer day is feeling the gentle breeze off the water. The air that blows your hair around and rustles the leaves is one kind of breeze. Another is the task that's easily completed or the job that is practically effortless: "Your dog is so good, walking him is a breeze!" You can also breeze through something that's simple and fast, like when you breeze through a math test, finishing long before your classmates.
Vocabulary lists containing breeze
"Caged Bird" by Maya Angelou
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"Growing Together" and "When I Grow Up"
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Lyrics to "America" by Stephen Sondheim (1951)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Although it is based on a famous short story, this one feels wholly reimagined, and has the bracing freshness of an ocean breeze.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
It will be accompanied by a strengthening southerly breeze and gradually a return to milder air once again.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
There’s no shortage of cabinet storage or counter space, and a pass-through window connects the room to an outdoor patio, making hosting and cleanup a breeze.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
That is paired with down-sloping winds and uncharacteristically warm ocean temperatures — driven in part by an El Niño that has reduced Southern California’s sea breeze, frequently known as its natural air conditioning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Caesar’s words are so soft, I almost mistake them for a breeze.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Southern California’s dry summers typically exist because of its land-to-sea breezes in the morning and sea-to-land breezes in the afternoon, according to meteorologist Kristan Lund of the weather service’s Oxnard office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Add to that hurricanes and ferocious lightning caused by humidity from ocean breezes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
This can help to intensify future heatwaves on land by reducing the cooling effect from sea breezes.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
The listing adds that the residents of Kula are blessed with “year-round springtime with gentle Pacific breezes and consistently comfortable temperatures.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 28, 2026
They mean the smell of dust and grass on a baseball diamond, the first fresh sea breezes that come all the way inland from Long Island Sound, all the maples decked out in green-gold leaves.
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
In 2023, OpenAI’s top model breezed through the grade-school math exam that previous machines had flunked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
A friend visited Thursday and says she breezed right in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
“That is very good!” she called as she breezed past.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Contrary to what many experts expected, Mexico has breezed through the group stage and the second round at home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
A maid had just breezed out the door with Camilla’s ironing.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
But, breezing along at 80 mph, I couldn’t hear the engine start nor could I feel it running.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
The company is not afraid of breezing past deadlines.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
Previously, most people could get the vaccine, often with no copay, by breezing into a pharmacy while grocery shopping.
From Salon ● May 27, 2025
Plus she likes reading a book, not a screen, savoring the words, not breezing through content.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2024
I rolled my cheek against the cold tile just in time to see Lance Winters breezing out of the can, his blond ponytail bobbing behind him.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
