backfire

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Contents

English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From back + fire.

Pronunciation [edit]

  • IPA: /bækˈfaɪə(ɹ)/

Verb [edit]

backfire (third-person singular simple present backfires, present participle backfiring, simple past and past participle backfired)

  1. (Of a gun or cannon) to fire in the opposite direction, for example due to an obstruction in the barrel.
  2. To fail in a manner that brings down further misfortune.
    His attempt to make money by importing luxury cars horribly backfired when fuel prices tripled.

Translations [edit]

Noun [edit]

backfire (plural backfires)

  1. (firefighting) Alternative spelling of back fire.

Anagrams [edit]