Blare means to make a loud, harsh, often unpleasant sound. When a car horn blares, it blasts out noise that makes everyone nearby jump or cover their ears. Sirens blare when emergency vehicles rush past. A radio blares when someone turns the volume up too high.

The word captures something important about the quality of the sound. A flute doesn't blare, even when played loudly, because its tone is smooth and pleasant. But a trumpet can blare when played with full force, and a television blares when the volume drowns out conversation. The sound combines loudness with a jarring or intrusive quality.

You might wake up to an alarm clock blaring in your ear, or walk past a store with music blaring from its speakers. The word suggests the sound demands attention whether you want to give it or not. When someone complains about noise blaring, they're telling you it's both too loud and too harsh to ignore.

As a noun, a blare is that loud, harsh sound itself: the blare of a horn, the blare of a siren, or the blare of music from a speaker.