blaze1

[bleyz] /bleɪz/
noun
1.
a bright flame or fire:
the welcome blaze of the hearth.
2.
a bright, hot gleam or glow:
the blaze of day.
3.
a sparkling brightness:
a blaze of jewels.
4.
a sudden, intense outburst, as of fire, passion, or fury:
to unleash a blaze of pent-up emotions; a blaze of glory.
5.
blazes, Informal. hell:
Go to blazes!
verb (used without object), blazed, blazing.
6.
to burn brightly (sometimes followed by away, up, forth):
The bonfire blazed away for hours. The dry wood blazed up at the touch of a match.
7.
to shine like flame (sometimes followed by forth):
Their faces blazed with enthusiasm.
8.
to burn with intense feeling or passion (sometimes followed by up):
He blazed up at the insult.
9.
to shoot steadily or continuously (usually followed by away):
The contestants blazed away at the clay pigeons.
10.
to be brilliantly conspicuous.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English, Old English blase torch, flame; cognate with Middle High German blas torch
Synonyms
1. See flame.

blaze2

[bleyz] /bleɪz/
noun
1.
a spot or mark made on a tree, as by painting or notching or by chipping away a piece of the bark, to indicate a trail or boundary.
2.
a white area down the center of the face of a horse, cow, etc.
verb (used with object), blazed, blazing.
3.
to mark with blazes:
to blaze a trail.
4.
to lead in forming or finding (a new method, course, etc.):
His research in rocketry blazed the way for space travel.
Origin
1655-65; akin to Old Norse blesi, Dutch bles, German Blässe white mark on a beast's face, and to German blass pale

blaze3

[bleyz] /bleɪz/
verb (used with object), blazed, blazing.
1.
to make known; proclaim; publish:
Headlines blazed the shocking news.
2.
Obsolete. to blow, as from a trumpet.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English blasen < Middle Dutch; cognate with Old Norse blāsa to blow. See blast
Examples from the web for blazes
  • After several failures, the light blazes, and the ship is saved.
British Dictionary definitions for blazes

blazes

/ˈbleɪzɪz/
plural noun
1.
(slang) a euphemistic word for hell
2.
(informal) (intensifier): to run like blazes, what the blazes are you doing?
3.
(slang) go to blazes!, go to hell!

blaze1

/bleɪz/
noun
1.
a strong fire or flame
2.
a very bright light or glare
3.
an outburst (of passion, acclaim, patriotism, etc)
4.
brilliance; brightness
verb (intransitive)
5.
to burn fiercely
6.
to shine brightly
7.
(often foll by up) to become stirred, as with anger or excitement
8.
(usually foll by away) to shoot continuously
See also blazes
Word Origin
Old English blæse

blaze2

/bleɪz/
noun
1.
a mark, usually indicating a path, made on a tree, esp by chipping off the bark
2.
a light-coloured marking on the face of a domestic animal, esp a horse
verb (transitive)
3.
to indicate or mark (a tree, path, etc) with a blaze
4.
blaze a trail, to explore new territories, areas of knowledge, etc, in such a way that others can follow
Word Origin
C17: probably from Middle Low German bles white marking; compare blemish

blaze3

/bleɪz/
verb
1.
(transitive) often foll by abroad. to make widely known; proclaim
Word Origin
C14: from Middle Dutch blāsen, from Old High German blāsan; related to Old Norse blāsa
Word Origin and History for blazes
n.

euphemism for "Hell," 1818, plural of blaze (n.1).

blaze

n.

"bright flame, fire," Old English blæse "a torch, flame, firebrand, lamp," from Proto-Germanic *blas- "shining, white" (cf. Old Saxon blas "white, whitish," Middle High German blas "bald," originally "white, shining," Old High German blas-ros "horse with a white spot," Middle Dutch and Dutch bles, German Blesse "white spot," blass "pale, whitish"), from PIE root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn" (see bleach (v.)).

"light-colored mark or spot," 1630s, northern English dialect, probably from Old Norse blesi "white spot on a horse's face" (from the same root as blaze (n.1)). A Low German cognate of the Norse word also has been suggested as the source. Applied 1660s in American English to marks cut on tree trunks to indicate a track; thus the verb meaning "to mark a trail;" first recorded 1750, American English. Related: Blazed; blazing.

v.

"to burn brightly or vigorously," c.1200, from blaze (n.1). Related: Blazed; blazing.

"make public" (often in a bad sense, boastfully), late 14c., perhaps from Middle Dutch blasen "to blow" (on a trumpet), from Proto-Germanic *blaes-an (cf. German blasen, Gothic -blesan), from PIE *bhle-, variant of root *bhel- (2) "to blow, inflate, swell" (see bole).

"to mark" (a tree, a trail), 1750, American English; see blaze (n.2).

Slang definitions & phrases for blazes

blazes

Related Terms

blue blazes


blaze

verb
  1. To speed; rush; barrel: She blazed around in it like Chuck Yeager, but it scared me half to death (1980s+)
  2. To leave; book, split (1980s+ Teenagers)
  3. To set alight, esp a marijuana cigarette
Related Terms

let's boogie


Idioms and Phrases with blazes

blaze

In addition to the idiom beginning with
blaze
also see: