quick fire


noun
  1. a single shot or several shots fired at a rapid rate from small arms at a target, especially one presented unexpectedly.

Origin of quick fire

1
First recorded in 1890–95

Other definitions for quick-fire (2 of 2)

quick-fire
[ kwik-fahyuhr ]

adjective
  1. firing or equipped for firing rapidly, especially at moving targets.

Origin of quick-fire

2
First recorded in 1890–95
  • Also quick-fir·ing [kwik-fahyuhr-ing] /ˈkwɪkˈfaɪər ɪŋ/ .

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use quick fire in a sentence

  • Hitchens, by contrast, wrote journalism and quick-fire columns and was not averse to using cliché or ready-made formulation.

    How Will Hitchens Be Remembered? | Jason Cowley | December 16, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • One of them hauled a hollow maple log out of the dbris and threw it to one side as being too heavy for a quick fire.

    A Virginia Scout | Hugh Pendexter
  • One sprang to chop a dry spruce log into fuel for a quick fire, and fell a harder tree to keep us warm through the night.

    Little Rivers | Henry van Dyke
  • A quick fire of interrogation volleyed at the three recruits, especially at Max.

    A Soldier of the Legion | C. N. Williamson
  • A quick fire, built inside, heats it thoroughly, after which water is thrown upon the hot stones to produce steam.

    In Indian Mexico (1908) | Frederick Starr

British Dictionary definitions for quick fire

quick fire

noun
  1. rapid continuous gunfire, esp at a moving target

adjectivequick-fire
  1. Also: quick-firing capable of or designed for quick fire

  2. informal rapid or following one another in rapid succession: quick-fire questions

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012