- [countable, uncountable] a hot bright stream of burning gas that comes from something that is on fire
- the tiny yellow flame of a match
- The room was filled with smoke and flames.
- to douse/extinguish the flames
- in flames The building was in flames (= was burning).
- The plane burst into flame(s) (= suddenly began burning strongly).
- Everything went up in flames (= was destroyed by fire).
- Heat the olive oil over a moderate flame (= on a gas cooker/stove).
- The curtains were enveloped in a sheet of flame.
- (British English) Never smoke or use spray paint near a naked flame.
- (North American English) an open flame
Extra Examples- The flames were growing higher and higher.
- Firefighters have been trying to control the flames.
- Flames leaped from the burning house.
- Men came with buckets of water and began to douse the flames.
- Orange flames were already licking around the foot of the stairs.
- Oxygen tanks fuelled the flames.
- The candle flame flickered and went out.
- The flames lit up the skyline.
- The flames quickly spread and engulfed their home.
- The plane crashed in a ball of flames.
- They tried to get into to the house but were beaten back by the flames.
- They watched the flames sweep through the old wooden barn.
- Winds fanned the flames.
- Max stared at the flickering flames of the bonfire.
- pork cooked over an open flame
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- blazing
- burning
- crackling
- …
- be engulfed in
- go up in
- burst into
- …
- roar
- die down
- spread
- …
- in flames
Definitions on the go
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- [uncountable] a bright red or orange colour
- a flame-red car
- [countable] (literary) a very strong feeling
- His childhood interest in the game had ignited a flame of passion for football.
Extra Examples- She felt a flame of anger flicker and grow.
- They tried to rekindle the flames of romance.
- [countable] (informal) an angry or offensive message sent to somebody by email or on the internet, typically in quick response to another messageTopics Phones, email and the internetc2
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French flame (noun), flamer (verb), from Latin flamma ‘a flame’.
Idioms
See flame in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee flame in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishfan the flames (of something)
- to make a feeling such as anger, hate, etc. worse
- His writings fanned the flames of racism.
Check pronunciation:
flame