blaze

¹ American  

[bleyz] / bleɪz /

noun

1. a bright flame or fire.

   the welcome blaze of the hearth.

2. a bright, hot gleam or glow.

   the blaze of day.

3. a sparkling brightness.

   a blaze of jewels.

4. a sudden, intense outburst, as of fire, passion, or fury.

   to unleash a blaze of pent-up emotions; a blaze of glory.

5. Informal. blazes, hell.

   Go to blazes!

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verb (used without object)

blazed, blazing

1. to burn brightly (sometimes followed byaway, up, forth ).

   The bonfire blazed away for hours. The dry wood blazed up at the touch of a match.

2. to shine like flame (sometimes followed byforth ).

   Their faces blazed with enthusiasm.

3. to burn with intense feeling or passion (sometimes followed byup ).

   He blazed up at the insult.

4. to shoot steadily or continuously (usually followed byaway ).

   The contestants blazed away at the clay pigeons.

5. to be brilliantly conspicuous.

blaze ² American  

[bleyz] / bleɪz /

noun

1. a spot or mark made on a tree, as by painting or notching or by chipping away a piece of the bark, to indicate a trail or boundary.

2. a white area down the center of the face of a horse, cow, etc.

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verb (used with object)

blazed, blazing

1. to mark with blazes.

   to blaze a trail.

2. to lead in forming or finding (a new method, course, etc.).

   His research in rocketry blazed the way for space travel.

blaze ³ American  

[bleyz] / bleɪz /

verb (used with object)

blazed, blazing

1. to make known; proclaim; publish.

   Headlines blazed the shocking news.

2. Obsolete. to blow, as from a trumpet.

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blaze ¹ British  

/ bleɪz /

noun

1. a strong fire or flame

2. a very bright light or glare

3. an outburst (of passion, acclaim, patriotism, etc)

4. brilliance; brightness

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verb

1. to burn fiercely

2. to shine brightly

3. (often foll by up) to become stirred, as with anger or excitement

4. (usually foll by away) to shoot continuously

blaze ² British  

/ bleɪz /

noun

1. a mark, usually indicating a path, made on a tree, esp by chipping off the bark

2. a light-coloured marking on the face of a domestic animal, esp a horse

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verb

1. to indicate or mark (a tree, path, etc) with a blaze

2. to explore new territories, areas of knowledge, etc, in such a way that others can follow

blaze ³ British  

/ bleɪz /

verb

1. to make widely known; proclaim

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blaze Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing blaze

• hot as blazes
• like greased lightning (blazes)

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Usage

What does blaze mean? A blaze is a bright flame or large fire, characterized as being very bright or burning very hot. Related to this, a blaze is also anything that is exceptionally bright, colorful, passionate, intense, or sudden, such as a jewel. Also related to this, to blaze means to burn brightly or hotly or to shine like a flame. A blaze is also a spot or mark on a tree used to indicate the direction of a trail. To blaze a trail is to mark trees or other landmarks, like rocks, with a blaze. Figuratively, if you blaze a trail, you are finding a new way. To blaze is also to make known or publish, as in The newspaper blazed the result of the trial on the front page. Example: The house was in a blaze by the time the firefighters arrived but everyone got out safely.

Synonym Usage

See flame.

Etymology

Origin of blaze¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English blase, blease, blese “a flame, blaze,” Old English blase, blæse “torch, lamp”; cognate with Middle High German blas “torch,” German blass (adjective) “pale, whitish”

Origin of blaze²

First recorded in 1635–45; akin to Old Norse blesi, Dutch bles, German Blässe, all meaning “white mark on a beast's face,” and to German adjective blass “pale”; see blaze ¹ ( def. )

Origin of blaze³

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English blasen “to blow (a horn), fan (fire), breathe (flames),” from Middle Dutch blasen “to blow (a horn)”; cognate with Old Norse blāsa “to blow (as wind, or with the mouth), blow a horn”; see also blast

Explanation

A blaze is a bright, strong flame. It can come from a fire, the sun, or anything else that shines or burns brilliantly. A fire is a blaze. Fire, when it's going strong and burning bright, is blazing. The greater the blaze, the harder a fire is to put out. You can also use this word for other types of brightness or shining. When Michael Jordan played in the NBA, he blazed across the league. Fashion trends that catch on quickly blaze across the country. If something spreads or shines like wildfire, it blazes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blaze blazed blazing

The fire service said the blaze was believed to have started in the basement of the building, adding that the cause was not yet known.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Lineage worked with neighbors affected by the blaze, interacting with almost all of the hundreds of directly impacted households, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

More than 130 people were on board the MV June Aster when the blaze erupted on Wednesday as it neared its destination at the tourist hotspot of Coron, after departing from Manila.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Authorities in Kinshasa and M23 have called for an investigation to determine the cause of the blaze.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

The giant tear in the sky bathed the beaches and coastline of the Golden Crescent in a red-orange blaze.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

He blazed over early on from outside the box then picked up a booking just before the half-hour mark.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Branches were draped with colourful ribbons and ritual wreaths, while bonfires blazed high, ready for the military brotherhood to gather around them.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

Astonishingly vivid images blazed forth onto the theater’s giant screen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

That was when Chris Gayle, the charismatic West Indies opener who blazed a trail in the shortest format, played his last professional game, setting a mark of 14,562 runs in T20 cricket.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

He tried to keep his eyes on the moon, but it blazed too hot and too whitely bright, and it etched its image across his vision.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

While the sun is blazing overhead, I keep the sat phone tucked in my back pocket and play the role of carefree traveler, riding jauntily around in Land Rovers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

It’s almost fall and the weather will be cooling, but Americans’ energy costs are going to be blazing hot.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

De Zerbi bemoaned Tottenham's decision-making with Marmoush a culprit, blazing over in the second half with Andy Robertson on an overlap and Mohammed Kudus waiting for a far-post tap in.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

Europe's record-breaking summer heat has caused thousands of excess deaths, set wildfires blazing and seen major rivers drop to record lows.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

A blazing beam of light filled the picture, and the robot parts turned bright orange.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

Related Words

• explode
• flare
• flash
• flicker
• gleam
• glow
• illuminate
• radiate
• shimmer
• shine
• sparkle