n.
- A light current of air; a gentle wind.
- 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.
- Informal. Something, such as a task, that is easy to do.
- To blow lightly.
- Informal. To progress swiftly and effortlessly: We breezed through the test.
- To sprint around a racetrack as a means of exercise. Used of a racehorse.
shoot the breeze Slang.
- 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.]
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.