breeze

[ breez ]

/ briz /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR breeze ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a wind or current of air, especially a light or moderate one.

a wind of 4–31 miles per hour (2–14 m/sec).

Informal. an easy task; something done or carried on without difficulty: Finding people to join in the adventure was a breeze.

Chiefly British Informal. a disturbance or quarrel.

verb (used without object), breezed, breez·ing.

(of the wind) to blow a breeze (usually used impersonally with it as subject): It breezed from the west all day.

to move in a self-confident or jaunty manner: She breezed up to the police officer and asked for directions.

Informal. to proceed quickly and easily; move rapidly without intense effort (often followed by along, into, or through): He breezed through the task. The car breezed along the highway.

verb (used with object), breezed, breez·ing.

to cause to move in an easy or effortless manner, especially at less than full speed: The boy breezed the horse around the track.

Verb Phrases

breeze in, Slang.

to win effortlessly: He breezed in with an election plurality of 200,000.
Also breeze into/out. to move or act with a casual or careless attitude: He breezed out without paying attention to anyone.

breeze up, Atlantic States. to become windy.

Nearby words

Idioms

shoot/bat the breeze, Slang.

to converse aimlessly; chat.
to talk nonsense or exaggerate the truth: He likes to shoot the breeze, so don't take everything he says seriously.

Origin of breeze

1555–65; earlier brize, brise north or northeast wind; compare Dutch bries, East Frisian brîse, French brize, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan brisa, Italian brezza; orig. and path of transmission disputed

SYNONYMS FOR breeze

1. See wind¹.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR breeze ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsbreeze·less, adjectivebreeze·like, adjective

breeze

[ breez ]

/ briz /

noun

cinders, ash, or dust from coal, coke, or charcoal.

concrete, brick, or cinder block in which such materials form a component.

Origin of breeze

1720–30; variant of dial. brays < French braise live coals, cinders; see braze²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for breeze

There is a breeze, and that is the only thing that differentiates it from a sauna.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Every move in Damascus has wide repercussions in Beirut or, as a local say, “a breeze in Syria becomes a storm in Lebanon.”
Hezbollah Profits From Hash as Syria Goes to Pot|Alberto Mucci|July 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A morning-glory vine hanging from a guy wire stirs, like a heavy curtain, in the cool morning breeze.
Stanley Booth on the Life and Hard Times of Blues Genius Furry Lewis|Stanley Booth|June 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He struck a match, but the breeze from the window fan blew it out.
Stanley Booth on the Life and Hard Times of Blues Genius Furry Lewis|Stanley Booth|June 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The ramp opened to a spring breeze and a view of snowcapped mountains.
How I’ll End the War: My First Week Back in Afghanistan|Nick Willard|May 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Against the breeze of such high indignation, any argument would be blown away.
The Trumpeter Swan|Temple Bailey
We were ready in excellent time; all our preparations being complete a good half-hour before the breeze came.
Under the Meteor Flag|Harry Collingwood
The breeze which blows from England slackens nothing ere it reaches those fields where the wild flowers and the rushes bloom.
The Challenge of the Dead|Stephen Graham
She saw the breeze move his hair; she saw the ruddy reflection from his mantle on his pallid and almost transparent face.
Let us follow Him|Henryk Sienkiewicz
Already a breeze ruffled the surface of the water, and the swell appeared to increase rather than go down.
The Phantom Ship|Frederick Marryat

British Dictionary definitions for breeze

breeze

/ (briːz) /

noun

a gentle or light wind

meteorol a wind of force two to six inclusive on the Beaufort scale

informal an easy task or state of easebeing happy here is a breeze

informal, mainly British a disturbance, esp a lively quarrel

shoot the breeze informal to chat

verb (intr)

to move quickly or casuallyhe breezed into the room

(of wind) to blowthe south wind breezed over the fields

Word Origin for breeze

C16: probably from Old Spanish briza northeast wind

noun

an archaic or dialect name for the gadfly

Word Origin for breeze

Old English briosa, of unknown origin

noun

ashes of coal, coke, or charcoal used to make breeze blocks

Word Origin for breeze

C18: from French braise live coals; see braise

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for breeze

breeze

1560s, "north or northeast wind," from Old Spanish briza "cold northeast wind;" in West Indies and Spanish Main, the sense shifting to "northeast trade wind," then "fresh wind from the sea." English sense of "gentle or light wind" is from 1620s. An alternative possibility is that the English word is from East Frisian brisen "to blow fresh and strong." The slang for "something easy" is American English, c.1928.

breeze

"move briskly," 1904, from breeze (n.). Related: Breezed; breezing.

Idioms and Phrases with breeze

breeze

In addition to the idiom beginning with breeze

breeze in

also see:

hands down (in a breeze)
shoot the breeze

breeze

noun

verb (used without object), breezed, breez·ing.

verb (used with object), breezed, breez·ing.

Verb Phrases

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breeze

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Origin of breeze

Examples from the Web for breeze

breeze

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verb (intr)

Word Origin for breeze

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Word Origin for breeze

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Word Origin for breeze

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