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!

---

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.

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

---

blaze Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing blaze

• hot as blazes
• like greased lightning (blazes)

---

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 incident saw 10 wagons of the 25-wagon train derail, causing 446,000 litres of fuel to spill, and about 300 people had to leave the area due to the blaze.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

More than 900 firefighters were tackling the blaze, using fire engines, helicopters and bulldozers, in an effort to clear the tinder-dry brush.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

Authorities described traffic jams and chaotic scenes as evacuees tried to flee in their cars and firefighters headed toward the blaze.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

The blaze was 29% contained on Saturday, according to the Watch Duty fire tracking platform.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Releasing Goldilocks, the demon reeled back, scorched by a blinding blaze.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Some 180 wildfires blazed across Ontario this week amid a heat wave and lightning storms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

The approach follows a path blazed by the World Bank and, most recently, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

Opener Mandhana was dropped twice in an innings where she blazed nine fours and two sixes to set up an India score of 170-6.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026

But only mere mumbling murmured down the house along the ancient trail in the walls blazed by mice before our time.

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck

In any other era, a Heisman candidate with a rocket arm and blazing speed would have made a beeline to the NFL draft.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Under a blazing sun, clad in black and clutching portraits of their slain leader Ali Khamenei, Iranian pilgrims streamed across the border into Iraq to observe the Arbaeen, the most revered event in Shia Islam.

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026

He charged into life with both guns blazing.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

The rescuers guided Gil out of his would-be tomb, onto a gurney and outside into the crush of onlookers waiting below the tropical sun, already blazing before 10 a.m.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026

Klava Fomicheva’s navigator, Galina “Galya” Turabelidze, strained to keep her eyes on Masha’s blazing plane so she would know where it went down.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Related Words

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