Flares

[flair] /flɛər/

verb (used without object), flared, flaring.
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 followed by up):
The fire flared up as the paper caught.
3.
to start up or burst out in sudden, fierce activity, passion, etc. (often followed 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.
verb (used with object), flared, flaring.
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.
to discharge and burn (excess gas) at a well or refinery.
noun
12.
a flaring or swaying flame or light, as of torches in the wind.
13.
a sudden blaze or burst of flame.
14.
a bright blaze of fire or light used as a signal, a means of illumination or guidance, etc.
15.
a device or substance used to produce such a blaze of fire or light.
16.
a sudden burst, as of zeal or of anger.
17.
a gradual spread outward in form; outward curvature:
the flare of a skirt.
18.
something that spreads out.
19.
Optics. unwanted light reaching the image plane of an optical instrument, resulting from extraneous reflections, scattering by lenses, and the like.
20.
Photography. a fogged appearance given to an image by reflection within a camera lens or within the camera itself.
21.
Also called solar flare. Astronomy. 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.
22.
Football. a short pass thrown to a back who is running toward a sideline and is not beyond the line of scrimmage.
23.
Television. a dark area on a picture tube caused by variations in light intensity.
Verb phrases
24.
flare out/up, to become suddenly enraged:
She flares up easily.
/flɛəz/
plural noun
1.
(informal) trousers with legs that widen below the knee
/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) to make a conspicuous display of
4.
to increase the temperature of (a molten metal or alloy) until a gaseous constituent of the melt burns with a characteristic flame or (of a molten metal or alloy) to show such a flame
5.
(transitive) sometimes foll by off. (in the oil industry) to burn off (unwanted gas) at an oil well
noun
6.
an unsteady flame
7.
a sudden burst of flame
8.

9.
a spreading shape or anything with a spreading shape: a skirt with a flare
10.
a sudden outburst, as of emotion
11.
(optics)

12.
(astronomy) short for solar flare
13.
(aeronautics) the final transition phase of an aircraft landing, from the steady descent path to touchdown
14.
an open flame used to burn off unwanted gas at an oil well
v.

mid-16c., originally “spread out” (hair), of unknown origin, perhaps from Dutch vlederen. Related: Flared; flaring. The notion of “spreading out in display” is behind the notion of “spreading gradually outward” (1640s). Flare-up “a sudden burst” is from 1837.
n.

“bright, unsteady light,” 1814, from flare (v.), which led to the sense of “signal fire” (1883). Flares “flared trousers” is from 1964.

flare (flâr)
n.
An area of redness on the skin surrounding the primary site of infection or irritation.