flames

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of flame.

   Orange flames leaped from the rooftop as the crowd watched in horror.

   The campers stamped out the last flames before crawling into their tents.

   Note

   A plural that follows the noun into all of its meanings. Flames can be tongues of fire, a run of passionate but short-lived lovers, or a volley of insulting remarks posted online, a use that now sounds dated. The same spelling also serves as the present-tense verb, so a headline that opens with flames may be using either the noun or the verb.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of flame.

   The torch flames suddenly when a gust of wind sweeps across the ridge.

   Dry pine flames faster than seasoned oak in the same hearth.

   Note

   The present-tense form carries all three of the verb's uses: fire that blazes, feeling that bursts out with zeal or passion, and the online habit of posting abuse. That last use works with or without an object (she flames newcomers; he flames constantly). Only a singular subject takes the -s form. I, you, we, they and plural nouns take the bare form flame.

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