blaze

verb

/bleɪz/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they blaze	/bleɪz/ /bleɪz/
he / she / it blazes	/ˈbleɪzɪz/ /ˈbleɪzɪz/
past simple blazed	/bleɪzd/ /bleɪzd/
past participle blazed	/bleɪzd/ /bleɪzd/
-ing form blazing	/ˈbleɪzɪŋ/ /ˈbleɪzɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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[intransitive] to burn brightly and strongly
- A huge fire was blazing in the fireplace.
- Within minutes the whole building was blazing.
- He rushed back into the blazing house.
[intransitive] to shine brightly
- The sun blazed down from a clear blue sky.
- The garden blazed with colour.
[intransitive] blaze (with something) (formal) if somebody’s eyes blaze, they look extremely angry
- Her eyes were blazing with fury.
(also blazon)
[transitive, usually passive] blaze something (across/all over something) to make news or information widely known by telling people about it in a way they are sure to notice
- The story was blazed all over the daily papers.
Topics TV, radio and newsc2
[intransitive] blaze (away) if a gun or somebody using a gun blazes, the gun fires continuously
- In the distance machine guns were blazing.
- For five minutes, soldiers blazed away with machine guns and automatic rifles.

Word Originverb senses 1 to 3 and verb sense 5 Old English blæse ‘torch, bright fire’, of Germanic origin; related ultimately to blaze ‘white spot or stripe on an animal's face’. verb sense 4 late Middle English (in the sense ‘blow out on a trumpet’): from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch blāzen ‘to blow’; related to the verb blow.

Idioms

(with) all/both guns blazing

(informal) with a lot of energy and determination
- The champions came out (with) all guns blazing.

blaze a trail

to be the first to do or to discover something that others follow
- The department is blazing a trail in the field of laser surgery.
compare trailblazer

blaze

noun

/bleɪz/

Idioms

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[countable] (used especially in newspapers) a very large fire, especially a dangerous one
- Five people died in the blaze.
- More than 50 firefighters fought to bring the blaze under control.
Extra Examples
- Strong winds fanned the blaze.
- The antiques were destroyed in a blaze last year.
- The blaze swept through the whole building.
- The fire brigade attended the blaze.
- Firefighters were called in to tackle the blaze.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- fierce
- huge
- intense
- …
verb + blaze
- attend
- battle
- fight
- …
blaze + verb
- spread
- sweep through something
preposition
- in a/the blaze
See full entry
[singular] strong bright flames in a fire
- Dry wood makes a good blaze.
[singular] a blaze of something a very bright show of lights or colour; a show of something that is impressive or likely to attract attention
- The gardens are a blaze of colour.
- a blaze of lights in the city centre
- the bright blaze of the sun
- The new soap opera was launched in a blaze of glory.
- They got married in a blaze of publicity.
- It's my last ever tournament and I hope to go out in a blaze of glory!
[singular] (a) blaze of something a sudden show of very strong feeling
- a blaze of anger/passion/hate
[countable, usually singular] a white mark on an animal’s face

Word Originnoun senses 1 to 4 Old English blæse ‘torch, bright fire’, of Germanic origin; related ultimately to blaze ‘white spot or stripe on an animal's face’. noun sense 5 mid 17th cent.: ultimately of Germanic origin; related to German Blässe ‘blaze’ and blass ‘pale’, also to blaze (in its fire sense), and probably to blemish.

Idioms

like blazes

(old-fashioned, informal) very hard; very fast

what/where/who the blazes…?

(old-fashioned, informal) used to emphasize that you are annoyed and surprised, to avoid using the word ‘hell’
- What the blazes have you done?