backfire
Use Backfire in a sentence
verb (used without object)
1.
(of an internal-combustion engine) to have a loud, premature explosion in the intake manifold.
2.
to bring a result opposite to that which was planned or expected: The plot backfired.
noun
4.
(in an internal-combustion engine) premature ignition of fuel in the intake manifold.
5.
an explosion coming out of the breech of a firearm.
00:10
Backfire
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to flee; abscond: |
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To backfire
Collins
World English Dictionary
backfire (ˌbækˈfaɪə) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | (of an internal-combustion engine) to emit a loud noise as a result of an explosion in the inlet manifold or exhaust system |
| 2. | (of an endeavour, plan, etc) to have an unwanted effect on its perpetrator: his plans backfired on him |
| 3. | to start a controlled fire in order to halt an advancing forest or prairie fire by creating a barren area |
| —n | |
| 4. | in an internal-combustion engine |
| a. an explosion of unburnt gases in the exhaust system | |
| b. a premature explosion in a cylinder or inlet manifold | |
| 5. | a controlled fire started to create a barren area that will halt an advancing forest or prairie fire |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
backfire
1839, Amer.Eng., originally "a fire deliberately lit ahead of an advancing prairie fire to deprive it of fuel," from back + fire (v.). As a verb in this sense, recorded from 1886. The meaning "premature ignition in an internal-combustion engine" is
first recorded 1897. Of schemes, plans, etc., "affect the initiator rather than the intended object" it is attested from 1912, a fig. use from the accidental back-firing of firearms.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
backfire definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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backfire (on (so)) definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
By certifying species as endangered, government programs can backfire.
It's that it will backfire with all of its potential audiences.
But the authorities' uncompromising stance could backfire.
However, new research into one threatened animal suggests that the approach can sometimes backfire.
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