flare

UK: /ˈflɛə^r/ US: /flɛr/ ,(flâr)

Inflections of 'flare' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

flares

v 3rd person singular

flaring

v pres p

flared

v past

flared

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

flare /flɛr/   v., flared, flar•ing, n. 
v. [no object]

1. to blaze with a burst of flame:
   [~ (+ up)] The fire flared (up) suddenly.
2. to burn unsteadily:
   candles flaring in the wind.
3. to burst out in sudden, fierce activity or emotion:
   [~ (+ up/out)] Tempers flared (up).
4. to spread gradually outward:
   [~ (+ out)] bell-bottomed trousers that flare (out) at the ankles.

n. 

5. [uncountable] a flaring or swaying flame or light.
6. [uncountable] a sudden blaze or burst of flame.
7. • [uncountable] a blaze of fire or light used as a signal or for illumination.
   • [countable] a device or substance producing such a blaze:
     The ship sent up warning flares.
8. an outward curve or spread:
   [countable] the flare of a skirt.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

flare  (flâr), v., flared, flar•ing, n. 
v.i. 

1. to burn with an unsteady, swaying flame, as a torch or candle in the wind.
2. to blaze with a sudden burst of flame (often fol. by up):
   The fire flared up as the paper caught.
3. to start up or burst out in sudden, fierce activity, passion, etc. (often fol. by up or out):
   Tempers flared at the meeting. Violence flared up in a new section of the city.
4. to shine or glow.
5. to spread gradually outward, as the end of a trumpet, the bottom of a wide skirt, or the sides of a ship.

v.t. 

6. to cause (a candle, torch, etc.) to burn with a swaying flame.
7. to display conspicuously or ostentatiously.
8. to signal by flares of fire or light.
9. to cause (something) to spread gradually outward in form.
10. Metallurgy to heat (a high-zinc brass) to such a high temperature that the zinc vapors begin to burn.
11. Mining to discharge and burn (excess gas) at a well or refinery.
12. flare out or up, to become suddenly enraged:
    She flares up easily.

n. 

13. a flaring or swaying flame or light, as of torches in the wind.
14. a sudden blaze or burst of flame.
15. a bright blaze of fire or light used as a signal, a means of illumination or guidance, etc.
16. a device or substance used to produce such a blaze of fire or light.
17. a sudden burst, as of zeal or of anger.
18. a gradual spread outward in form;
    outward curvature:
    the flare of a skirt.
19. something that spreads out.
20. Optics unwanted light reaching the image plane of an optical instrument, resulting from extraneous reflections, scattering by lenses, and the like.
21. Photography a fogged appearance given to an image by reflection within a camera lens or within the camera itself.
22. Astronomy Also called solar flare. a sudden and brief brightening of the solar atmosphere in the vicinity of a sunspot that results from an explosive release of particles and radiation.
23. Sport [Football.] a short pass thrown to a back who is running toward a sideline and is not beyond the line of scrimmage.
24. Radio and Television [Television.] a dark area on a picture tube caused by variations in light intensity.

• 1540–50; origin, originally meaning: spread out, said of hair, a ship's sides, etc; compare Old English flǣre either of the spreading sides at the end of the nose

Synonyms

• 1. flame.
• 3. erupt, explode, flash, blaze, flame.
• 14. flash.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

flare / flɛə/ verb

1. to burn or cause to burn with an unsteady or sudden bright flame
2. to spread or cause to spread outwards from a narrow to a wider shape
3. (transitive) sometimes followed by off: (in the oil industry) to burn off (unwanted gas) at an oil well

noun

1. an unsteady flame
2. a sudden burst of flame
3. a blaze of light or fire used to illuminate, identify, alert, signal distress, etc
4. the device producing such a blaze
5. a spreading shape or anything with a spreading shape: a skirt with a flare
6. short for solar flare
7. an open flame used to burn off unwanted gas at an oil well

Etymology: 16th Century (to spread out): of unknown origin