What does "breeze" mean?
A light, gentle wind.
Breeze
/bɹiːz/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A light, gentle wind.
- Grammar: breeze is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: cinch, piece of cake, walkover, wind.
- Useful contrasts: no wind, calm, challenge.
- Usage evidence: The candle's flame is flickering in the soft breeze.
How to use "breeze"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "breeze" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "breeze" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "breeze" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "breeze" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "breeze" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "cinch" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "breeze", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A light, gentle wind.
"The breeze rustled the papers on her desk."
- 2 A gadfly; a horsefly; a strong-bodied dipterous insect of the family Tabanidae. intransitive
- 3 Ashes and residue of coal or charcoal, usually from a furnace. See Wikipedia article on Clinker. intransitive
- 4 any undertaking that is easy to do wordnet
- 5 Any activity that is easy, not testing or difficult. figuratively
"After studying Latin, Spanish was a breeze."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 a slight wind (usually refreshing) wordnet
- 7 Wind blowing across a cricket match, whatever its strength.
- 8 An excited or ruffled state of feeling; a flurry of excitement; a disturbance; a quarrel.
"The discovery produced a breeze."
- 9 A brief workout for a racehorse.
Verb
- 1 To move casually, in a carefree manner. intransitive, usually
"Resting most of their first-choice players for Sunday's vital Euro 2024 qualifier against Croatia, Wales started with four debutants and breezed into an early lead thanks to headers by captain Ben Davies and Kieffer Moore."
- 2 To buzz. intransitive
- 3 to proceed quickly and easily wordnet
- 4 To blow gently. intransitive
"She's sitting opposite a window that's gently breezing into her face, wafting her hair into cover-girl perfection ..."
- 5 blow gently and lightly wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To take a horse on a light run in order to understand the running characteristics of the horse and to observe it while under motion. intransitive
- 7 To swim near the surface of the water, causing ripples in the surface. intransitive
"The first was a school of medium-sized ( 10-pound average ) fish that breezed frequently but bit poorly."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"The candle's flame is flickering in the soft breeze."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "breeze"?
Common synonyms include: cinch, piece of cake, walkover, wind, ace, air.
How do you use "breeze" in a sentence?
The candle's flame is flickering in the soft breeze.
How do you pronounce "breeze"?
Pronounced /bɹiːz/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From the earlier (nautical) term brise, brize (“breeze”), from Middle English brees (“wind”). Ultimate origin obscure. Variously supposed to derive from a Germanic source like Saterland Frisian Briese (“breeze”), West Frisian brys (“a cool wind”), Dutch bries (“breeze”), early Dutch brysen (“to blow cool and fresh”), or from Spanish brisa (“northeast wind”). The earliest attestations are in Middle English brees (1460), Catalan brisa, and Italian brezza (all in 15th century), with Spanish (1504) and Portuguese briza (16th century) following closely after. The aforementioned Dutch cognates and French brise, however, are attested later than the term in English. The only internal hypothesis for any of those languages is a modification of Old Occitan bisa (“strong wind”), which is not widely accepted. Compare also Albanian breshër (“hail”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English brese, from Old English brēosa, variant of Old English brimsa (“gadfly”), from Proto-Germanic *bremusī (“gadfly”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerem- (“to make a noise, buzz, hum”). Cognate with Dutch brems (“horsefly, warblefly”), German Bremse (“gadfly, horsefly”), Danish bremse (“gadfly, horsefly”), Swedish broms (“gadfly, horsefly”). Related also to Middle English brimse (“gadfly”), French brize (“gadfly”), Old English bremman (“to rage, roar”), Latin fremō (“roar, snort, growl, grumble”). See also bream.
Etymology 3
Probably from French braise (“burning coals”).
Etymology 4
* As an English surname, spelling variant of Breese. * As a Welsh surname, from ap Rhys (“son of Rhys”); see Reese.