Meaning & use
blaze
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Meanings
nouncountable
A large, fierce fire that burns strongly and may be dangerous.
Grammar: Countable: a blaze, two blazes; often with a describing word like forest or house.
Patterns
- a blaze in something
- put out a blaze
Firefighters worked all night to put out the blaze.
The blaze destroyed three buildings before it was brought under control.
We sat by a cheerful blaze in the fireplace.
nounsingularfigurative
A bright, strong show of light or color, or an intense outburst of something.
Grammar: Usually singular with an or the, and followed by of: a blaze of color.
Patterns
- a blaze of something
The garden was a blaze of red and orange tulips.
The band left the stage in a blaze of glory.
A blaze of camera flashes greeted the actress.
verbintransitive
To burn strongly and brightly, or to shine with great intensity.
Grammar: No object: the fire blazed; the sun blazed overhead.
Patterns
- blaze with something
- blaze away
A fire blazed in the hearth all evening.
The sun blazed down on the empty beach.
Her eyes blazed with anger.
verbidiomfigurative
To be the first to make a path or start something new, as in the idiom blaze a trail.
Grammar: Used in the idiom blaze a trail, meaning to lead the way.
Patterns
- blaze a trail
- blaze a path
The scientist blazed a trail in cancer research.
Early settlers blazed a trail through the forest.
Her company blazed a trail in green technology.
Word forms
| third person singular | blazes |
|---|---|
| past tense | blazed |
| past participle | blazed |
| -ing form | blazing |
| plural | blazes |
Common combinations
- put out a blaze
- It took hours to put out the blaze.
- a blaze of color
- Autumn turned the hills into a blaze of color.
- a raging blaze
- A raging blaze swept through the warehouse.
- blaze a trail
- She blazed a trail for women in engineering.
- a blaze of glory
- He retired in a blaze of glory.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fire
- Fire is the general word, while a blaze is a large and fierce fire.
- inferno
- An inferno is an even bigger, more terrifying blaze that is out of control.
- flare
- A flare is a brief bright flame or light, while a blaze keeps burning.
- glow
- A glow is a soft, steady light without flames, while a blaze is intense.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: blaze or blaise?
blaze vs blaise
Blaise is not a variant of blaze; it is a French personal name, so use blaze for fire.
Practice
Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Choose one answer.
Blaze a trail in a field means to be the first to make progress there. The other options break the idiom's grammar.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “blaze”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.