breeze¹ (brēz)
n.

1. A light current of air; a gentle wind.
2. Any of five winds with speeds of from 4 to 27 knots (5 to 31 miles per hour; 7 to 50 kilometers per hour), according to the Beaufort scale.
3. Informal. Something, such as a task, that is easy to do.

intr.v., breezed, breez·ing, breez·es.

1. To blow lightly.
2. Informal. To progress swiftly and effortlessly: We breezed through the test.
3. To sprint around a racetrack as a means of exercise. Used of a racehorse.

idiom:

shoot the breeze Slang.

1. To engage in idle conversation.

[Perhaps from Old Spanish briza, northeast wind.]

SYNONYMS   breeze, cinch, pushover, snap. These nouns denote something easily accomplished: The exam was a breeze. Chopping onions is a cinch with a food processor. Winning the playoffs was no pushover. The new computer program was a snap to learn.

breeze² (brēz)
n.
The refuse left when coke or charcoal is made.

[Probably from French braise, hot coals, from Old French brese, of Germanic origin.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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