breeze
1 Americannoun
-
a wind or current of air, especially a light or moderate one.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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)
-
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
-
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
-
meteorol a wind of force two to six inclusive on the Beaufort scale
-
informal an easy task or state of ease
being happy here is a breeze
-
informal a disturbance, esp a lively quarrel
-
informal to chat
verb
-
to move quickly or casually
he breezed into the room
-
(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
-
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:
The time period is vaguely medieval and the accents British, save for Skarsgård, who speaks in a flat, neutral exhale, the sound of breeze riffling through straw.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
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
"Very quickly in the morning, as temperatures have risen inland as the sun heats the ground, a sea breeze has formed with winds coming from the sea into Durban," said BBC weather presenter Chris Fawkes.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 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
The breeze played with the ends of Sela’s hair.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Semenyo breezes past his full-back getting close to goal quickly.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
"They are just amazed" by the daytime high temperatures under 30C and sea breezes, as well as the lack of crowds compared to tourist hotspots in southern Europe.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
He shows up at tournaments, breezes through the field, then flies to the next one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Over the next few days, ocean breezes will die down and the beaches will heat up.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
So Turner sat at a small desk by the window—a window closed tightly and imperiously against sea breezes exiled by fate—and began the first hundred lines of the Aeneid.
From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" 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
World number two Luke Humphries breezed into the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix with a 3-0 victory over Niels Zonneveld.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
There was one person in the Touchless line and I breezed through.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
“That is very good!” she called as she breezed past.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
After squeaky Mrs. Hyatt for kindergarten and game-show Mr. Gross for first grade, Mrs. Tracy breezed into our room for second grade.
From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper
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
And after that, the Phillies didn’t put another runner aboard until the seventh, with Snell breezing through the next 12 batters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2025
Previously, most people could get the vaccine, often with no copay, by breezing into a pharmacy while grocery shopping.
From Salon ● May 27, 2025
“Hey, Maisie,” Mom says as she comes breezing into the room.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
