n A sudden bright light.
n A source of brightly burning light or intense heat.
n A type of pyrotechnic that produces a brilliant light without an explosion, used to attract attention in an emergency, to illuminate an area, or as a decoy.
n (oil industry) A flame produced by a burn-off of waste gas (flare gas) from a flare tower (or flare stack), typically at an oil refinery.
n (figuratively) A sudden eruption or outbreak; a flare-up.
n A widening of an object with an otherwise roughly constant width.
n (nautical) The increase in width of most ship hulls with increasing height above the waterline.
n (in the plural) Bell-bottom trousers.
n (aviation) The transition from downward flight to level flight just before landing.
n (baseball) A low fly ball that is hit in the region between the infielders and the outfielders.
n (American football) A route run by the running back, releasing toward the sideline and then slightly arcing upfield looking for a short pass.
n An inflammation such as of tendons (tendonitis) or joints (osteoarthritis).
n A breakdance move of someone helicoptering his torso on alternating arms.
v (transitive) To cause to burn; in particular, to burn off excess gas.
v (transitive) To cause inflammation; to inflame.
v (transitive, intransitive) To open outward in shape.
v (transitive, intransitive, aviation) To (operate an aircraft to) transition from downward flight to level flight just before landing.
v (intransitive) To blaze brightly.
v (intransitive) To shine out with a sudden and unsteady light; to emit a dazzling or painfully bright light.
v (intransitive, figuratively) To shine out with gaudy colours; to be offensively bright or showy.
v (intransitive, figuratively) To suddenly happen or intensify.
v (intransitive, figuratively) To suddenly erupt in anger.
v (intransitive, obsolete) To be exposed to too much light.
n (photography) Short for lens flare. [A stray patch of brightness in a photographic image resulting from aberrant refractions or reflections within the lens due to an exceptionally bright light source, sometimes one just outside the image proper.]