flare

noun

1. A sudden bright light.
2. A source of brightly burning light or intense heat.

   “solar flare”

   “I was looking in the direction of the lightship off and on from the time we first sighted her. I could not be mistaken in such a matter as a flare-up light. By a flare-up light I mean a large bright light waved in the air, something like a torch dipped in resin and waved about. I am prepared to say that any person who has sworn that she shewed a flare-up light from the lightship while the Kanagawa Maru was passing has perjured himself.”

   “[T]he forward deck near the house was all saturated with spilt oil and there was a quantity of oakum lying about, some of which possibly had been used for flares or distress signals.”

   “In the little fair created by the costers' barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one's eyes ache, the men's voices grated harshly, and the girls' faces saddened one.”

   “We made a movie picture by the use of flares, the brilliant light startling the blacks, but their surprise quickly gave way to enthusiasm,—just another of the white bwana's magic powers.”

3. A source of brightly burning light or intense heat.

   “Flares were used to steer the traffic away from the accident.”

   “The flares attracted the heat-seeking missiles.”

   “Stowed away in the plane Jack had a signal pistol and several red and green cartridges, but until a search plane appeared the flares would be useless.”

   “While he was putting on the snowplough, the Whites shot up a flare to see what was happening. It floated above us like a fizzing star at the end of a tiny white petal of a parachute. We threw ourselves down, in between the rails, in there with the dog shit.”

4. A source of brightly burning light or intense heat.

   “Flare stacks are used in gas plants, petroleum refineries, and petrochemical plants to combust surplus hydrocarbons to produce combustion products that are neither toxic nor combustible. Flares frequently incorporate a liquid-gas separator at the base of the stack and steam assisted burner nozzles at the top of the stack to aid complete combustion.”

5. (figuratively)A sudden eruption or outbreak; a flare-up.

   “"A strange flare of maternal pride," he remarked in his usual detached fashion as he rejoined Parkinson.”

   “Antiinflammatory corticosteroid creams and ointments are prescribed for inflamed or lichenified areas. These creams are more effective when applied to damp skin. The lowest potency that controls signs should be used, and topical steroids are usually reserved for treatment of episodic flares.”

6. A widening of an object with an otherwise roughly constant width.

   “During assembly of a flare tube fitting, a flare nut is used to secure the flared tubing’s tapered end to the also tapered fitting, producing a pressure-resistant, leak-tight seal.”

   “That's a genuine early 70's flare on those pants.”

   “That silhouette which is at present under consideration, the much-talked-of "barrel," appears in a Bulloz suit of rough white woolen material stitched with blue cotton thread; both on the skirt and coat the flare is somewhat lower than is usual with flares.”

   “The flare on the inside of the shoe resists ankle pronation; […]”

7. A widening of an object with an otherwise roughly constant width.
8. (in-plural)Bell-bottom trousers.

   “In the early 1970's, a giddy epoch in men's fashion, when denim flares and platform oxfords were the outer edge of style, Giorgio Armani made a suit that stretched. Imbued with spandex, the elastic fiber that gives a fabric extra bounce, the suit was one of the first in a long line of innovations that would eventually make Armani as familiar a brand as Kleenex.”

   “As a teenager I hitch-hiked around free rock concerts, wearing flowered shirts and denim flares – jeans that were worn so much, in such rough conditions, and with so little attention to washing and care that after a while they became naturally abraded and frayed in just the manner that is simulated by commerce today.”

9. The transition from downward flight to level flight just before landing.

   “The captain executed the flare perfectly, and we lightly touched down.”

   “In normal operations, the rate of descent (or sink rate) will be approximately constant as the airplane approaches the runway. The objective of the flare is to reduce the vertical speed to an acceptably low value at the time when contact is made with the ground. […] Typically, the airplane will slow down a little in the flare and the touchdown speed will be about 3 to 5 kt less than the speed at the screen height[…].”

10. A low fly ball that is hit in the region between the infielders and the outfielders.

    “Jones hits a little flare to left that falls for a single.”

    “An observant base runner checks the outfield defense and easily goes from first to third when the batter hits a flare to right field. A base runner who does not observe the depth of the outfield must turn to watch the ball, see it drop, and then run. He probably doesn't make it to third base.”

11. A route run by the running back, releasing toward the sideline and then slightly arcing upfield looking for a short pass.
12. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of lens flare.

    “The defect in question is the flare which frequently arises from the use of compound lenses when there is a very bright object in front, resulting in a ghost-like image of that object being thrown upon the plate. If the image of the object thus duplicated be in focus we designate it a "ghost;" if out of focus we call it "flare."”

13. An inflammation such as of tendons (tendonitis) or joints (osteoarthritis).
14. A breakdance move of someone helicoptering his torso on alternating arms.

verb

1. (transitive)To cause to burn; in particular, to burn off excess gas.

   “Qatar joined the World Bank's Global Gas Flaring Reduction programme in early 2008, indicating its commitment to reducing the process of flaring the gas found with oil deposits.”

   “One time I was working with the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) on fueling their fleet, and I was surprised to see them flaring the methane at their wastewater facility.”

2. (transitive)To cause inflammation; to inflame.

   “Trying to draw a breath flared the pressure on his chest into searing agony.”

   “Adequate rest is incorporated into upper extremity training program so as not to flare the joint.”

3. (ambitransitive)To open outward in shape.

   “The cat flared its nostrils while sniffing at the air. (transitive)”

   “The cat’s nostrils flared when it sniffed at the air. (intransitive)”

   “The building flared from the third through the seventh floors to occupy the airspace over the entrance plaza. (intransitive)”

   “The sides of a bowl flare. (intransitive)”

   “We claim as our invention—The rigid parts G and H′, and flexible part H with screws I, for forcibly operating when the parts are flared, as represented, and the strap H is drawn obliquely inward or together at the sides, so as to press all the surface of the bent and flared casket end, as herein set forth.”

4. (ambitransitive)To (operate an aircraft to) transition from downward flight to level flight just before landing.

   “After a brief refueling stop in Fairbanks, Billy continued on to the cabin. As he flared the Huey [a helicopter] to land, he could see Moses running out of the cabin to greet him”

   “I had one instructor that called and said he had tried everything to solo his student but the guy just couldn't get the picture of what was expected. One time around the airport the student would flare the airplane twenty feet in the air, and the next time around he would fly the nose into the ground. […] He either flared out very high, or didn't flare out at all.”

5. (intransitive)To blaze brightly.

   “The blast furnace flared in the night.”

   “Thou rear'st thy stately neck, / And, while I list, thou flarest in men's eyes / A gorgeous queen; […]”

   “And when Slaughter and Pillage begin to tire, / High flareth red Fire! / How he roars and hisses and flashes! / His frenzy soon turns / The proud pile to a mass of grey ashes, […]”

   “This phrase was "Flare up!" and it is, even now, a colloquialism in common use. It took its rise in the time of the Reform riots, when Bristol was nearly half burned by the infuriated populace. The flames were said to have flared up in the devoted city.”

   “Now spent night her watchers spareth, / Now the sun's bright banner flareth, / Now morn's gale day's trump is blowing.”

6. (intransitive)To shine out with a sudden and unsteady light; to emit a dazzling or painfully bright light.

   “The candle flared in a sudden draught.”

   “The substance to which all common flames owe their brightness is finely-divided charcoal. […] Of this formation of charcoal the proof is obvious whenever a candle flares and smokes; for the unburnt charcoal soon collects in the upper part of the flame, and if not removed is apt to fall into the cup of the candle, where it forms a kind of second wick, rapidly melting away the tallow, and disfiguring the candle, […]”

7. (figuratively, intransitive)To shine out with gaudy colours; to be offensively bright or showy.

   “[B]y a robe of white, the which ſhe weares, / With ribones pendant flaring bout her head, / I ſhalbe ſure to know her, […]”

   “Wealth's golden key displayeth she, / And robes of state she weareth, / And the jewell'd star of high degree, / Fix'd at her bosom flareth.”

8. (figuratively, intransitive)To suddenly happen or intensify.

   “The genius of the poet [John Keats] flares up, dies out, and flares again, as if there were a dearth of fuel to feed it; and by this fault, more than any other, he is removed out of the class of great poets, and occupies but the second rank.”

9. (figuratively, intransitive)To suddenly erupt in anger.

   “[H]e flared up very much when I told him I could not give him the schedule.”

10. (intransitive, obsolete)To be exposed to too much light.

    “[…] I [Satan] cannot ſtay / Flaring in ſun-ſhine all the day: / For, entre nous, we helliſh ſprites, / Love more the freſco of the nights; […]”