FAN

[verb] [T] -nn-To fan yourself or your face is to wave a fan, or something that acts as a fan, in front of your face.It was very hot in the car, and I tried to fan myself with the road map.You fan a fire to make it burn more brightly.(figurative) The newspapers deliberately fanned the public's fears (= encouraged them to feel frightened) of losing their jobs. [T]In the 1960s his speeches fanned the flames of racial tension (= made it worse).