gaze

American  

[geyz] / geɪz /

verb (used without object)

• gazes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• gazed,
  past participle,  past
• gazing
  present participle

1. to look steadily and intently, as with great curiosity, interest, pleasure, or wonder.

---

noun

• gazes
  plural

1. a steady or intent look.

2. Heraldry. at gaze, (of a deer or deerlike animal) represented as seen from the side with the head looking toward the spectator.

   a stag at gaze.

gaze British  

/ ɡeɪz /

verb

1. (intr) to look long and fixedly, esp in wonder or admiration

---

noun

1. a fixed look; stare

Synonym Usage

Gaze, stare, gape suggest looking fixedly at something. To gaze is to look steadily and intently at something, especially at that which excites admiration, curiosity, or interest: to gaze at scenery, at a scientific experiment. To stare is to gaze with eyes wide open, as from surprise, wonder, alarm, stupidity, or impertinence: to stare unbelievingly or rudely. Gape is a word with uncomplimentary connotations; it suggests open-mouthed, often ignorant or rustic wonderment or curiosity: to gape at a tall building or a circus parade.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• gazer
  noun
• outgaze
  verb (used with object)
• gazeless
  adjective
• ungazing
  adjective
• gazingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gazes
  plural

Participles

• gazing
  present
• gazed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• gaze
  simple
• gazes
  simple
• have gazed
  perfect
• has gazed
  perfect
• am gazing
  progressive
• are gazing
  progressive
• is gazing
  progressive
• have been gazing
  perfect progressive
• has been gazing
  perfect progressive

Past

• gazed
  simple
• had gazed
  perfect
• was gazing
  progressive
• were gazing
  progressive
• had been gazing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will gaze
  simple
• will have gazed
  perfect
• will be gazing
  progressive
• will have been gazing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of gaze

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English gasen; compare Norwegian, Swedish (dialect) gasa “to look”

Explanation

When someone lays eyes on you and keeps looking, it is a gaze or a stare. You can gaze back or just say, "Take a picture; it lasts longer." Gaze is both a verb and a noun. When people daydream, they often gaze off into the distance without focusing on anything. Another type of gaze, though, is to look very intently at something, as when you gaze at the sky making pictures out of clouds. A contest to see who will blink first means taking a long gaze into someone's eyes, and this type of gaze (the noun) will leave your eyes in a bit of a haze when you're done.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gaze gazes gazed gazing

While I was visiting Cindy a few days later, a young cardinal alighted at the feeder and met our gaze.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

The behaviour of our chaotic atmosphere generally becomes harder to predict the further into the future you gaze.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

With his slick black hair and steely gaze, he was practically born for the part.

From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026

Late Friday, the president visited the Mount Rushmore national monument for an address under the gaze of the giant granite heads of four of his legendary predecessors.

From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026

The Raven Leader caught his gaze and held it, and Torak felt a rush of relief.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

From the top of a wind turbine nearly 100 metres above the ground, Grzegorz Witek, a coal miner, gazes at the horizon.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

But the way that Bullseye gazes at Woody with those big eyes?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

In a dream she gazes out from eyes like “great transparent marbles.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026

Ben Martill often gazes out of his window to watch the deer roaming below.

From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2025

His eyes searched for Dimple's in the crowd, and when they locked gazes, he grinned, big and happy.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

Shouts of joy and applause broke out as hundreds of people gathered in a heat-scorched field gazed at the sky at the moment darkness fell.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

The fire also passed through a grove of critically endangered Torrey pines, which I had hiked up to and gazed down on the island’s crystal blue water.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026

Kaur appeared visibly upset in the dock as the verdict was read out, while Digwa showed little emotion and gazed out into the courtroom.

From BBC ● May 28, 2026

When he gazed at the camera as Pennywise the clown, the resulting alert conveyed no concern about the menacing visage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026

Mr. Pinkerton gazed out, too, for a few moments more, then turned and extended his hand for me to shake.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

Previously, newspapers have given away free pairs for major events and school children have been pictured gazing up at the Sun wearing them.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

"And just like with any miracle... you just can't forget about it, because it's simply impossible to forget," he added, gazing up at the Virgin.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

Isn’t that what any of us wants when gazing into the mirror held up to nature, as Hamlet describes the theater?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

I’m not sure gazing at bugs will help, but there could be some value in returning to the roots of the issue.

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

I turned, peering over a spindly shrub, and found myself gazing into the gentle face of Jemma’s father, Old Joseph Tuthill.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan