flare

SayFLAIRUS/flɛɚ̯/UK/flɛə̯//fleː/

Pluralflares

Verbflares, flaring, flared

Often confused with flair

24 meanings of flare

Practice

1
nouncountable
A device that burns very brightly without exploding, used to call for help, light up an area, or fool an enemy.
The sailors fired a flare so the rescue boat could find them.
Police put flares on the road to warn drivers about the crash.
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2
nouncountable
A bright light that appears suddenly.
A flare of lightning lit up the whole valley.
There was a quick flare of light as he struck the match.
Similarflash, burst, blaze, glare
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3
verbfigurativelyintransitive
To start suddenly or quickly get stronger.
Fighting flared again near the border last night.
My allergies flare every spring when the trees bloom.
Similarerupt, escalate, intensify
Oppositesubside
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4
verbtransitive or intransitive
To spread wider at one end, or to make something spread out like that.
These jeans flare out below the knee.
The angry bull flared its nostrils.
Similarwiden, splay
Oppositetaper, narrow
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5
verbintransitive
To give off a sudden, unsteady light, or a light so bright it hurts the eyes.
The candle flared when someone opened the door.
Matches flare for a second before they settle into a small flame.
Similarflash, flicker, glare, blaze
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6
verbfigurativelyintransitive
To get angry all of a sudden.
Dad flared up when he saw the broken window.
Try not to flare up every time someone disagrees with you.
Similarexplode, erupt, bristle
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7
nounfigurativelycountable
A time when something suddenly breaks out.
There was a flare of fighting in the north last week.
Her eczema flares are worse in the winter.
Similaroutbreak, eruption, outburst
8
nouncountable
Pain and swelling in a part of the body, such as a joint.
Her arthritis flare made it hard to open jars.
Cold weather gives him painful flares in his wrists.
Similarflare-up
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9
verbintransitive
To burn with big, bright flames.
The bonfire flared in the dark field.
Fires flare all night in the old steel mill.
Similarblaze, burn, flame
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10
nouncountable
A part where something that is mostly the same width gets wider.
These jeans have a small flare at the bottom.
The trumpet ends in a wide flare.
Similarwidening
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11
nouncountableplural
Pants that get much wider at the bottom of each leg.
My mom still has the flares she wore in high school.
The store sells jeans in many styles, including flares.
Similarbell-bottoms
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12
nounabbreviationellipsis
Short for lens flare. Used for bright spots or streaks in a photo caused by strong light.
The sun caused a flare in the corner of my photo.
Turn the camera away from the lamp to avoid flare.
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13
nouncountable
Something that burns with a very bright light or gives off strong heat.
An oil flare on a pole lit up the road at night.
The fish sellers worked late under hissing gas flares.
Similartorch
14
nouncountable
A flame at the top of a tall pipe where unwanted gas is burned, often at an oil plant.
From the highway you can see the orange flare on top of the refinery.
The oil field had dozens of flares burning in the dark.
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15
verbtransitive
To burn something, especially extra gas that is not needed.
Workers flare the extra gas so it does not build up.
The company flared gas at the well for three days.
Similarburn
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16
verbtransitive
To make part of your body sore and swollen.
Too much tennis can flare your elbow.
Walking all day flared her bad ankle.
Similaraggravate, inflame, irritate
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17
nouncountable
The moment just before landing when a plane stops going down and flies level.
The pilot timed the flare well, and the landing was smooth.
In the flare, the nose of the plane comes up a little.
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18
verbtransitive or intransitive
To stop going down and fly level just before landing, or to make a plane do so.
The pilot flared the small plane, and it landed softly.
Planes flare just before their wheels touch the ground.
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19
nouncountable
In baseball, a low hit through the air that falls between the players near the bases and those farther back.
She hit a flare that landed just behind second base.
Two players ran for the flare, but it fell between them.
Similarblooper
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20
nouncountable
In football, a path where the running back runs toward the sideline, then curves forward for a short pass.
The quarterback threw to the running back on a flare.
Our running back ran a flare and caught the ball near the sideline.
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21
noununcountable
The way the sides of most ships get wider higher up from the water.
You can see the flare of the hull when the boat is out of the water.
The old fishing boat has a lot of flare at the front.
Oppositetumblehome
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22
nouncountable
A breakdance move where you spin your body around while holding yourself up on one arm, then the other.
The crowd cheered when he did a flare in the middle of the circle.
She is learning flares at her dance class.
23
verbfigurativelyintransitive
To stand out with bright colors in a way that is too loud and showy.
Her orange and green shirts flare in every family photo.
The new pink house flared among the quiet gray ones on the street.
Similarglare, blaze
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24
verbobsoleteintransitive
To be out in too much light, like strong sun.
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Practice

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Origin

No one knows for sure where it comes from. It was first used in the mid 1500s and is probably linked to a Latin word meaning "I burn".