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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

blaze.

A fire, especially a fast-burning fire producing a lot of flames and light.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/bleɪz/
  1. A fire, especially a fast-burning fire producing a lot of flames and light.

  2. Intense, direct light accompanied with heat.

    They sought shelter from the blaze of the sun.
  3. A high-visibility orange colour, typically used in warning signs and hunters' clothing.

  4. A bursting out, or active display of any quality.

  5. A hand consisting of five face cards.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English blase, from Old English blæse, blase (“firebrand, torch, lamp, flame”), from Proto-West Germanic *blasā, from Proto-Germanic *blasǭ (“torch”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to shine, be white”). Cognate with Low German blas (“burning candle, torch, fire”), Middle High German blas (“candle, torch, flame”).

verb/bleɪz/
  1. To be on fire, especially producing bright flames.

    intransitive
    The campfire blazed merrily.
  2. To send forth or reflect a bright light; shine like a flame.

    intransitive
  3. To be conspicuous; shine brightly a brilliancy (of talents, deeds, etc.).

    intransitive · poetic
  4. To set in a blaze; burn.

    rare · transitive
  5. To cause to shine forth; exhibit vividly; be resplendent with.

    transitive
  6. To be furiously angry; to speak or write in a rage.

    figuratively
  7. To smoke marijuana.

    slang
Where this word comes from

From Middle English blasen, from Middle English blase (“torch”). See above.

noun/bleɪz/
  1. The white or lighter-coloured markings on a horse's face.

    The palomino had a white blaze on its face.
  2. A spot made on trees by chipping off a piece of the bark, usually as a surveyor's mark.

  3. A waymark: any marking as painted on trees, carvings, affixed markers, posts, flagging, or crosses placed to lead hikers on their trail.

Where this word comes from

] A 1639 borrowing, perhaps from Dutch bles or Middle Low German blesse, bles, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *blasī, from Proto-Germanic *blasį̄, from *blasaz (“white, pale (of animals)”) + *-į̄ (forming nouns), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“shiny, white”). Cognate with German Blesse, Swedish bläs. The verb is from the noun.

verb/bleɪz/
  1. To mark with a white spot on the face (as a horse).

    transitive
  2. To set a mark on (as a tree, usually by cutting off a piece of its bark).

    transitive
  3. To indicate or mark out (a trail, especially through vegetation) by a series of blazes.

    transitive
    The guide blazed his way through the undergrowth.
  4. To mark off or stake a claim to land.

    transitive
    He blazed his claim on the land.
  5. To set a precedent for the taking-on of a challenge; lead by example.

    figuratively · transitive
    Darwin blazed a path for the rest of us.
Where this word comes from

] A 1639 borrowing, perhaps from Dutch bles or Middle Low German blesse, bles, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *blasī, from Proto-Germanic *blasį̄, from *blasaz (“white, pale (of animals)”) + *-į̄ (forming nouns), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“shiny, white”). Cognate with German Blesse, Swedish bläs. The verb is from the noun.

verb/bleɪz/
  1. To blow, as from a trumpet.

    transitive
  2. To publish; announce publicly.

    transitive
  3. To disclose; bewray; defame.

    transitive
  4. To blazon.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English blasen (“to blow”), from Old English *blǣsan, from Proto-West Germanic *blāsan, from Proto-Germanic *blēsaną (“to blow”). Related to English blast.

noun/bleɪz/
  1. Publication; the act of spreading widely by report.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English blasen (“to blow”), from Old English *blǣsan, from Proto-West Germanic *blāsan, from Proto-Germanic *blēsaną (“to blow”). Related to English blast.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.