breeze¹

[breez]

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.
1. to win effortlessly: He breezed in with an election plurality of 200,000.
2. 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.

Idioms

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

Origin of breeze¹

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

Related formsbreeze·less, adjectivebreeze·like, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

1. See wind¹.

breeze²

[breez]

noun

cinders, ash, or dust from coal, coke, or charcoal.
concrete, brick, or cinder block in which such materials form a component.

Origin of breeze²

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for breeze

Contemporary Examples

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
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
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
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
The white blooms dotted the asphalt and swirled in the breeze under the orange glow of the street lamps.
How the Dead Come Home From Afghanistan
Nick Willard
May 9, 2014

Historical Examples

He has an air, it is true, but his air is not a breeze, like the air of a pretender to fashion.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
Not a breeze can stir but it thrills us with the breath of autumn.
The Old Manse (From "Mosses From An Old Manse")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Her stiff cap moved in the breeze as it swung from the corner of her mirror.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
They were trembling, not so much under the breeze as from the hurrying rhythm of the year.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown
For a moment Pierre was transported as by a breeze of hope and triumph.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for breeze

breeze¹

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

C16: probably from Old Spanish briza northeast wind

breeze²

noun

an archaic or dialect name for the gadfly

Word Origin

Old English briosa, of unknown origin

breeze³

noun

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

Word Origin

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

n.

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.

v.

"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

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Synonyms

breeze2

Origin of breeze2

Related Words

Examples from the Web for breeze

Contemporary Examples

There is a breeze, and that is the only thing that differentiates it from a sauna.

Every move in Damascus has wide repercussions in Beirut or, as a local say, “a breeze in Syria becomes a storm in Lebanon.”

A morning-glory vine hanging from a guy wire stirs, like a heavy curtain, in the cool morning breeze.

He struck a match, but the breeze from the window fan blew it out.

The white blooms dotted the asphalt and swirled in the breeze under the orange glow of the street lamps.

Historical Examples

He has an air, it is true, but his air is not a breeze, like the air of a pretender to fashion.

Not a breeze can stir but it thrills us with the breath of autumn.

Her stiff cap moved in the breeze as it swung from the corner of her mirror.

They were trembling, not so much under the breeze as from the hurrying rhythm of the year.

For a moment Pierre was transported as by a breeze of hope and triumph.

breeze1

Word Origin

breeze2

Word Origin

breeze3

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for breeze

n.

v.

Idioms and Phrases with breeze

breeze

breeze¹

Origin of breeze¹

breeze²

Origin of breeze²

breeze¹

breeze²

breeze³