flame

American  

[fleym] / fleɪm /

noun

flames plural

1. burning gas or vapor, as from wood or coal, that is undergoing combustion; a portion of ignited gas or vapor.

   Synonyms:

   fire

2. Often flames the state or condition of blazing combustion.

   to burst into flames.

3. any flamelike condition; glow; inflamed condition.

4. brilliant light; scintillating luster.

5. bright coloring; a streak or patch of color.

6. flame color.

7. intense ardor, zeal, or passion.

8. Informal. an object of one's passionate love; sweetheart.

   He's taking out his new flame tonight.

9. Computer Slang. an angry, critical, or disparaging electronic message, as an online comment.

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verb (used without object)

flames, present (3rd person singular) flamed, past participle, past flaming present participle

1. to burn with a flame or flames; burst into flames; blaze.

2. to glow like flame; shine brilliantly; flash.

3. to burn or burst forth with strong emotion; break into open anger, indignation, etc.

4. Computer Slang. to post an angry, critical, or disparaging electronic message, as an online comment.

verb (used with object)

flames, present (3rd person singular) flamed, past participle, past flaming present participle

1. to subject to the action of flame or fire.

2. to flambé.

3. Computer Slang. to insult or criticize angrily in an online post or comment.

verb phrase

1. flame out

   1. (of a jet engine) to cease to function due to an interruption of the fuel supply or to faulty combustion.

   2. to burst out in or as if in flames.

flame British  

/ fleɪm /

noun

1. a hot usually luminous body of burning gas often containing small incandescent particles, typically emanating in flickering streams from burning material or produced by a jet of ignited gas

2. (often plural) the state or condition of burning with flames

   to burst into flames

3. a brilliant light; fiery glow

4. 1. a strong reddish-orange colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      a flame carpet

5. intense passion or ardour; burning emotion

6. informal a lover or sweetheart (esp in the phrase an old flame )

7. informal an abusive message sent by electronic mail, esp to express anger or criticism of an internet user

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verb

1. to burn or cause to burn brightly; give off or cause to give off flame

2. (intr) to burn or glow as if with fire; become red or fiery

   his face flamed with anger

3. (intr) to show great emotion; become angry or excited

4. (tr) to apply a flame to (something)

5. archaic (tr) to set on fire, either physically or with emotion

6. informal to send an abusive message by electronic mail

flame Scientific  

/ flām /

1. The hot, glowing mixture of burning gases and tiny particles that arises from combustion. Flames get their light either from the fluorescence of molecules or ions that have become excited, or from the incandescence of solid particles involved in the combustion process, such as the carbon particles from a candle.

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flame Idioms  

1. see add fuel to the fire (flames); burst into (flames); fan the flames; go up in flames; shoot down (in flames).

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Synonym Usage

Flame, blaze, conflagration refer to the light and heat given off by combustion. Flame is the common word, referring to a combustion of any size: the light of a match flame. Blaze usually denotes a quick, hot, bright, and comparatively large flame: The fire burst into a blaze. Conflagration refers to destructive flames which spread over a considerable area: A conflagration destroyed Chicago.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• flamelet
  noun
• flamer
  noun
• underflame
  noun
• outflame
  verb (used with object)
• flameless
  adjective
• flamelike
  adjective
• flamy
  adjective
• preflame
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• flames
  plural

Participles

• flaming
  present
• flamed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• flame
  simple
• flames
  simple
• have flamed
  perfect
• has flamed
  perfect
• am flaming
  progressive
• are flaming
  progressive
• is flaming
  progressive
• have been flaming
  perfect progressive
• has been flaming
  perfect progressive

Past

• flamed
  simple
• had flamed
  perfect
• was flaming
  progressive
• were flaming
  progressive
• had been flaming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will flame
  simple
• will have flamed
  perfect
• will be flaming
  progressive
• will have been flaming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of flame

First recorded in 1300–50; (noun) Middle English flaume, from Anglo-French, variant of flaumbe; Old French flambe, earlier flamble, from Latin flammula, diminutive of flamma “flame” ( see -ule); (verb) Middle English flaumen, from Anglo-French flaum(b)er; Old French flamber, from Latin flammāre, derivative of flamma

Explanation

The flame of a fire produces light and heat and often flickers or dances. As a verb, to flame is to be on fire or to flare up. On the Internet, flame has a different meaning: to post or send aggressive, negative, or insulting messages in a public electronic forum. "Flame wars" are exchanges of such messages between individuals or parties and often occur behind a veil of anonymity. It's an appropriate term, given that inflammatory, which takes flame as its root, describes speech or action that tends to incite a heightened and negative response.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flame flames flamed flaming

And despite national dread over whether the team would flame out of the tournament, players could sense that Pochettino’s tactics would come together.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

More than 100 firefighters, dozens of fire engines and at least seven aircraft are trying to contain the fire, reportedly facing a wall of flame some 5km long and still spreading.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

Occasionally, its operators revved its engine until the tires burned out, which sent gouts of flame and plumes of foul white smoke into the scorching air to block our view of the Washington Monument.

From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026

As the chants continued, fans flocked from all corners of the stadium like moths to a flame, and the group grew from a few dozen to a few hundred.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

A few seconds later, the black plastic went orange as the flame grabbed it.

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

Those and other personal devices have lithium-ion batteries, which are prone to bursting into flames when they malfunction or overheat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

The fire service battled the flames at the children's care home in Mohammadia, an eastern suburb of Algiers, for at least three hours.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

The accidents at refineries in the cities of the South Bay are most spectacular — stinky or flashy, with flames you can see on the TV news if not from where you live.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

"It was unreal," he said, adding that while ponies grazing on the mountain had escaped, he feared for a neighbour's pigs as flames swept through surrounding land.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Soon, I lose track of them; it’s like my brain can only process the flames as they spread and grow.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

The 1988 presidential campaign of Alexander Haig, a former four-star general who served as Ronald Reagan’s first secretary of state, flamed out amid GOP infighting over the Iran–Contra affair.

From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2026

Iowa, which flamed out to No. 10 seed Virginia in the second round last week, could have simply been less prepared than other tournament teams.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026

“Every one of these flamed out,” he reports.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026

Doubts about a Fed rate cut next month were also flamed by the release of much-delayed September jobs data.

From Barron's ● Nov. 21, 2025

My scalp still flamed, but not as badly; I could bear it.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

In U.S. television, there’s a tendency to open every piece of sports programming with a clash of cymbals and a rhinoceros jumping through a flaming hoop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Some of her favourite moments include Beaker losing his eyeballs in a science experiment and Gonzo wearing flaming roller skates - to give a flavour of the chaos.

From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026

Air traffic control’s communications came alive with surprised pilots who saw the accident, some of whom took photos and shot videos of the flaming streaks in the sky:

From Salon ● Jan. 12, 2026

Thousands of people, some dressed as Vikings carrying flaming torches, marched through Scotland's capital of Edinburgh as a procession kicked off the country's world-famous New Year celebrations.

From Barron's ● Dec. 30, 2025

I’d told them about my vision of the moped as a flaming grasshopper.

From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon

Related Words

• blaze
• conflagration
• flare
• flash
• light
• spark
• wildfire