gaze

play

verb \ ˈgāz \

Definition of gaze

gazed; gazing

intransitive verb

:to fix the eyes in a steady intent look often with eagerness or studious attention

gazed out the window at the snow

—

gazer

noun

See gaze defined for English-language learners

See gaze defined for kids

Examples of gaze in a Sentence

He gazed out the window at the snow.
She gazed intently into his eyes.

Recent Examples of gaze from the Web

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Charlene Holloway stood in the cavernous rotunda of Kentucky’s state Capitol on Wednesday and gazed at the imposing 15-foot-tall marble statue of Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederacy.

— adam beam, The Seattle Times, "Black leaders call for removal of Jefferson Davis statue," 30 Aug. 2017
Simone took to Instagram on Monday night to post a sweet pic of herself and her reported beau, gazing lovingly into each others' eyes.

— chelsea stone, Teen Vogue, "Simone Biles Posts Instagram With Reported Boyfriend Stacey Ervin," 22 Aug. 2017
Like many Americans, President Donald Trump on Monday gazed at the first solar eclipse in a century to cross the continental United States, coast to coast.

— herman wong, chicagotribune.com, "Trump celebrates solar eclipse by looking up without special viewing glasses," 21 Aug. 2017
Visit the Habsburg’ Imperial Palace and Imperial Court Church, and gaze up at Emperor Maximilian I’s iconic Golden Roof.

— Smithsonian, "* * *," 14 Aug. 2017
Place palms together in front of your heart, with eyes closed or gazing forward.

— andrea stanley, Cosmopolitan, "Get Your Mind and Body Right With Jessamyn Stanley's Favorite Yoga Poses," 11 Aug. 2017
Dressed in a dramatic red silk gown, J.Law appears to gaze wistfully at the New York City harbor as the Statue of Liberty looms in the background.

— maggie mallon, Glamour, "There's Now a Political Conspiracy Theory About Jennifer Lawrence's Vogue Cover," 11 Aug. 2017
The bright yellow against the brilliant blue Colorado sky is truly awesome — whether by hiking, biking or simply gazing from the car.

— irene middleman thomas, star-telegram, "Hitting the ski slopes in Colorado? Make time to explore Silverthorne," 22 July 2017
Some DNA seems linked to personality, and one study showed that dogs and humans enforce their bonds by gazing at each other.

— elizabeth pennisi, Science | AAAS, "What makes dogs so friendly? Study finds genetic link to super-outgoing people," 19 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gaze.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of gaze

Middle English

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

gaze Synonyms

Synonyms

blink, gawk, gawp [chiefly British], gape, goggle, peer, rubberneck, stare

Related Words

glare, gloat, glower; consider, eye, fixate, observe, regard, watch; leer, ogle; peruse, pore (over), study; outface, outstare, stare down

Near Antonyms

glance, glimpse, peek, peep; browse, dip (into), scan; wink (at)

gaze

noun

Definition of gaze

:a fixed intent look

See gaze defined for English-language learners

Examples of gaze in a Sentence

She looked at him with a calm, steady gaze.
suddenly aware of her admiring gaze, he became self-conscious and uncomfortable

Recent Examples of gaze from the Web

Go to a minor league ballgame, gaze at the stars, rent a canoe or catch a discounted flick or free concert.

— vickie snow jurkowski, Daily Southtown, "Dates on a dime, or close to it," 25 Aug. 2017
Get ready to star gaze, and register for Pooch Fest and Grow the Good: Annual 4C for Children Leadership and Early Childhood Conference.

— melissa reinert, Cincinnati.com, "NKY Roundup: Stars, pooches and education," 16 Aug. 2017
Schaedel failed the horizontal gaze test, then refused to complete field sobriety exercises.

— tony marrero, miamiherald, "Florida man offered cop $10,000 to go free, and got another charge instead, police say," 11 Aug. 2017
Clapperton said, his gaze upon his crew standing in ranks where fighter jets take off and land.

— carl prine, sandiegouniontribune.com, "The 'Big Stick' gets a new skipper," 27 July 2017
But while most anatomists, predominantly men, extensively studied the female reproductive system as a mysterious cauldron of life, Morandi turned her gaze to the male role in reproduction.

— leila mcneill, Smithsonian, "The Lady Anatomist Who Brought Dead Bodies to Light," 26 July 2017
The New York Times and Washington Post publish unflattering exposes of the administration on a near-nightly basis — occasionally, stumbling upon malfeasance that eluded the gaze of entire intelligence agencies.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Six Months In, Is Trump’s America Living Up to Liberals’ Worst Fears?," 22 July 2017
James is a shy boy with a piercing gaze and a tendency to retreat into himself, who can hardly walk except with a cane.

— Washington Post, "In South Sudan, a child soldier long thought dead comes back," 21 July 2017
A driver-facing camera mounted on the instrument panel uses gaze-tracking to ascertain if the driver is actually paying attention.

— jonathan m. gitlin, Ars Technica, "Bosch took us for a ride in its level 3 autonomous car," 18 July 2017

Origin and Etymology of gaze

derivative of ¹gaze

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1566

See Words from the same year

gaze Synonyms

Synonyms

aspect [archaic], eye, gape, regard, scrutiny, stare

Related Words

glare, glower; contemplation, fixation; attention, observance, observation, surveillance, watch; examination, inspection, perusal, study, survey

Near Antonyms

blink [chiefly Scottish], flash, glance, glimpse, peek, peep, sight, stime [chiefly Scottish & Irish]; oeillade, ogle; browse, scan

GAZE Defined for English Language Learners

gaze

play

verb

Definition of gaze for English Language Learners

: to look at someone or something in a steady way and usually for a long time

gaze

noun

Definition of gaze for English Language Learners

: a long and steady look

GAZE Defined for Kids

gaze

play

verb \ ˈgāz \

Definition of gaze for Students

gazed; gazing

:to fix the eyes in a long steady look

She gazed at the stars.

Synonym Discussion of gaze

gaze, stare, and glare mean to look at with concentration. gaze is used of a long and fixed look.

- They stood gazing at the sunset.

stare is used of an often curious, rude, or absentminded gaze with eyes wide open.

- He stared in surprise at the strange creature.

glare means an angry stare.

- The teacher glared at the naughty children.

gaze

noun

Definition of gaze for Students

:a long steady look

Medical Dictionary

gaze

play

intransitive verb \ ˈgāz \

medical Definition of gaze

gazed; gazing

:to fix the eyes in a steady and intent look

—

gaze

noun

Learn More about gaze

See words that rhyme with gaze Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for gaze Spanish Central: Translation of gaze Nglish: Translation of gaze for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of gaze for Arabic speakers

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gazer

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Examples of gaze in a Sentence

Recent Examples of gaze from the Web

Origin and Etymology of gaze

gaze Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

gaze

Definition of gaze

Examples of gaze in a Sentence

Recent Examples of gaze from the Web

Origin and Etymology of gaze

gaze Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Phrases Related to GAZE

Related Phrases

GAZE Defined for English Language Learners

gaze

Definition of gaze for English Language Learners

gaze

Definition of gaze for English Language Learners

GAZE Defined for Kids

gaze

Definition of gaze for Students

Synonym Discussion of gaze

gaze

Definition of gaze for Students

Medical Dictionary

gaze

medical Definition of gaze

gaze

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