I. noun
or breeze fly ˈbrēz
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English breese, brese, from Old English brēosa, brīosa
dialect England : gadfly
II. ˈbrēz noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French brise, perhaps alteration of bise — more at bise
1. : a steady light or moderate air current ; especially : one moving either toward or off a seacoast — see land breeze , sea breeze
2.
a. : a light gentle soft-blowing wind
the languid spring breeze rocked the little green bombshells of maple sprays — T.R.Ybarra
waved in the breeze of an electric fan
b. : a wind of from 4 to 31 miles an hour — see fresh breeze , gentle breeze , light breeze , moderate breeze , strong breeze ; beaufort scale table
3. : disturbance , quarrel
4.
a. : something easily managed or accomplished : cinch
that test was a breeze
b. : an easy victory
5. : something likened to a breeze (as in freshness, transience, lightness)
temper the hot winds of romance with the more sensible breeze of historical fact — Saturday Review
high-sounding phrases flutter in the breeze of heroic feeling — R.S.Ellery
a little breeze of applause broke out — Willa Cather
Synonyms: see wind
•
- shoot the breeze
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
1. of the wind
a. : to blow gently
b. : freshen
it now began breezing strongly from seaward — Herman Melville
— often used with up
it had been smooth then, but now it was breezing up from the southwest — Archie Binns
2.
a. : to move swiftly and airily
the Senator breezed in, wearing a light summer suit and a jaunty straw hat — A.M.Schlesinger b. 1917
b. : to proceed quickly and easily
the pitcher breezed to his third victory
— usually used with through
he breezed through the report rapidly, remembering little
so much of the beauty … is lost if you just breeze through — Richard Joseph
c. : to depart in haste
transitive verb
: to exercise (a horse) at a brisk gait without urging to great speed
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably modification of French braise cinders, live coals, from Old French brese — more at braze
1.
a. : residue from the making of coke or charcoal
b. : dust or fine bits of coke or charcoal
c. : coal or coke dust
2. : furnace ashes
3. : a construction material (as brick or concrete) made partly of breeze