noun B2 Upper-Intermediate Common

flame

flaym

Flame (noun) means the visible, glowing part of a fire. Example: “A single candle flame lit the room.”

noun

The visible, glowing part of a fire.

"A single candle flame lit the room."

"The campfire flames crackled through the night."

A short-lived but intense romantic relationship, or the person in it.

"He ran into an old flame from college at the reunion."

verb

To post an angry, insulting message online, or to burn with visible flames.

"The forum thread got flamed within minutes of posting."

"The dry logs flamed up quickly."

How to use flame

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishThe burning, glowing part of fire — also used for an old romance, or for aggressively insulting someone online.

Common pairings

burst into flame an old flame flame war

Word forms

flamed past tense, flames plural, flames singular

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A single candle _____ lit the room.

Etymology

From Old French flame/flambe, both going back to Latin flamma, "flame," from a very old Indo-European root meaning "to shine or gleam."

Origin: Latin

Synonyms

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blaze flare glow fire sweetheart

Related words

light fire term hell match technology raise excellent

Rhymes for flame

name came game dame same fame tame lame blame frame shame became

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Frequently asked questions

What does “flame” mean?

The word “flame” means the visible, glowing part of a fire. In plain terms, the burning, glowing part of fire — also used for an old romance, or for aggressively insulting someone online.

How do you pronounce “flame”?

“Flame” is pronounced flaym (/fleɪm/ in IPA).

How do you use “flame” in a sentence?

Here is “flame” used in a sentence: “A single candle flame lit the room.”

What part of speech is “flame”?

Depending on how it is used, “flame” can be a noun and a verb.

Where does the word “flame” come from?

The word “flame” comes from Latin. From Old French flame/flambe, both going back to Latin flamma, "flame," from a very old Indo-European root meaning "to shine or gleam.".

Is “flame” a common word?

“Flame” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

How many meanings does “flame” have?

“Flame” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the visible, glowing part of a fire.

What is the difference between a flame and a fire?

A fire is the whole event of combustion — burning material, heat, light, and smoke — while a flame is specifically the visible, glowing part of a fire. One fire can produce many flames, and some burning, such as glowing embers, produces no visible flame at all.

What is a twin flame?

Twin flame is an informal, spiritual term for a person with whom someone feels an unusually intense, mirror-like romantic or personal bond, often described as deeper than a soulmate. The idea is popular in relationship writing but has no scientific basis; linguistically it builds on flame's sense of an intense romance.

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