Definition of 'flame'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense flames, present participle flaming, past tense, past participle flamed
1. variable noun
A flame is a hot bright stream of burning gas that comes from something that is burning.
2. countable noun
3. See also flaming
4.
5.
See in flames
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
flame in American English
noun
2.
a tongue of light rising from a fire
3.
the state of burning with a blaze of light
to burst into flame
5.
an intense emotion; strong passion
7.
a sweetheart
verb intransitiveWord forms: flamed or ˈflaming
8.
to burn with a blaze of light; burst into flame
9.
to light up with color as if blazing; grow red or hot
a face flaming with anger
10.
to show intense emotion; become very excited
verb transitive
11. Rare
to burn or heat with flame
12.
to treat with flame
13. Informal
to attack or harshly criticize, as by e-mail
SIMILAR WORDS: blaze
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
ME < OFr flamme (< L flamma) & flambe < L flammula, dim. of flamma < base of flagrare, to burn: see flagrantWord Frequency
flame in American English
(fleim) (verb flamed, flaming)
noun
1.
burning gas or vapor, as from wood or coal, that is undergoing combustion; a portion of ignited gas or vapor
2. (often flames)
the state or condition of blazing combustion
to burst into flames
3.
any flamelike condition; glow; inflamed condition
4.
brilliant light; scintillating luster
6. See flame color
7.
intense ardor, zeal, or passion
9. Computing slang
an act or instance of angry criticism or disparagement, esp. on a computer network
intransitive verb
SYNONYMS 1. fire. flame, blaze, conflagration refer to the light and heat given off by combustion. flame is the common word, referring to a combustion of any size: the light of a match flame. blaze usually denotes a quick, hot, bright, and comparatively large flame: The fire burst into a blaze. conflagration refers to destructive flames which spread over a considerable area: A conflagration destroyed Chicago. 10.
to burn with a flame or flames; burst into flames; blaze
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
flamer noun
flameless
adjective
flamelike
adjective
Word origin
[1300–50; (n.) ME flaume ‹ AF, var. of flaumbe; OF flambe, earlier flamble ‹ L flammula, dim. of flamma flame ( see -ule); (v.) ME flaumen ‹ AF flaum(b)er; OF flamber ‹ L flammāre, deriv. of flamma]Word Frequency
flame in British English
noun
1.
a hot usually luminous body of burning gas often containing small incandescent particles, typically emanating in flickering streams from burning material or produced by a jet of ignited gas
2. (often plural)
the state or condition of burning with flames
to burst into flames
verb
8.
to burn or cause to burn brightly; give off or cause to give off flame
9. (intransitive)
to burn or glow as if with fire; become red or fiery
his face flamed with anger
11. (transitive)
to apply a flame to (something)
12. (transitive) archaic
to set on fire, either physically or with emotion
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
flameless (ˈflameless) adjective
flamelet (ˈflamelet)
noun
flamelike (ˈflameˌlike)
adjective
flamer (ˈflamer)
noun
flamy (ˈflamy)
adjective
Word origin
C14: from Anglo-French flaume, from Old French flambe, modification of flamble, from Latin flammula a little flame, from flamma flame
Word Frequency
flame in Chemical Engineering
(fleɪm)
Word forms: (regular plural) flames
noun
(Chemical Engineering: General)
flame arresterA flame is the hot thing you can see when combustion takes place.
In a wood fire, the visible flames are not due to combustion of the wood itself, but rather of the gases released by
its pyrolysis.
The flame of a Bunsen burner consists of two cones: the inner one, in which heated but imperfectly
burned gases exist, and the outer one, where oxygen is in excess on the outside edge.
A flame is the hot thing you can see when combustion takes place.
Collins COBUILD Key Words for Chemical Engineering. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Examples of 'flame' in a sentence
flame
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In other languages
flame
British English: flame
/fleɪm/ NOUN
A flame is a hot bright stream of burning gas that comes from something that is burning.
The heat from the flames was intense.
- American English: flame /ˈfleɪm/
- Arabic: لَهَب
- Brazilian Portuguese: chama
- Chinese: 火焰
- Croatian: plamen
- Czech: plamen
- Danish: flamme
- Dutch: vlam
- European Spanish: llama
- Finnish: liekki
- French: flamme
- German: Flamme
- Greek: φλόγα
- Italian: fiamma
- Japanese: 炎
- Korean: 불꽃
- Norwegian: flamme
- Polish: płomień
- European Portuguese: chama
- Romanian: flacără
- Russian: пламя
- Spanish: llama
- Swedish: låga
- Thai: เปลวไฟ
- Turkish: alev
- Ukrainian: полум'я
- Vietnamese: ngọn lửa
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Definition of flame from the Collins English Dictionary
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