flare

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun

n. a sudden, brief, and very bright light.

n. a sudden, brief, and unsteady burst of flame or light.

“A flare of light from the match showed his face for a second in the dark room.”

“The solar flare released a massive burst of radiation that disrupted satellite communications for several hours across the northern hemisphere.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to suddenly burn with a bright, unsteady light.

v. to burn with a sudden, intense, or irregular flame.

“The campfire flared up when he threw a dry log onto the coals.”

“The gas from the refinery was flared off into the night sky, creating a rhythmic pulse of orange light visible for miles.”

C2 · Proficiency Aviation Technical

v. to pull the nose of a plane up just before touching the ground to land softly.

v. to execute a maneuver during the landing approach where the nose is raised to reduce the rate of descent.

“The pilot started to flare just before the wheels touched the runway.”

“If the pilot fails to flare at the correct altitude, the aircraft may experience a hard landing that could damage the landing gear.”