backfire
(of an internal-combustion engine) to have a loud, premature explosion in the intake manifold.
to bring a result opposite to that which was planned or expected: The plot backfired.
Origin of backfire
1Other words for backfire
2 | miscarry, boomerang; flop, bomb, wash out |
Words Nearby backfire
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use backfire in a sentence
Providing the facts decreased concerns about fraud among Democrats, but increased them among Republicans—a classic backfire effect.
The perils of letting social media titans correct misinformation | jakemeth | October 22, 2020 | FortuneResearch on the backfire effect is mixed, and some studies suggest it happens rarely.
The perils of letting social media titans correct misinformation | jakemeth | October 22, 2020 | FortuneThe Washington Post detailed several other instances of vote-shaming backfires in a 2018 story, including a tweet by Billy Eichner in which he told his bellhop to vote, prompting backlash that forced him to delete the quip.
Poll: College students are ready to call out people who don’t vote | Jerusalem Demsas | October 16, 2020 | VoxThat’s where they’re actually creating the new fire that’s with their burnout, the backfire operation.
What the Photos of Wildfires and Smoke Don’t Show You | by Elizabeth Weil and Lisa Larson-Walker | September 21, 2020 | ProPublicaSpreading a one-size-fits-all model for girls' education could backfire.
Promoting Girls’ Education Isn’t Enough: Malala Can Do More | Paula Kweskin | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Gerald Ford and the swine flu pandemic that never happened in 1976 is a cautionary tale that government action can backfire.
But with Americans fed up with corporate influence, will the move backfire?
Overall, taking steps to get pregnant quickly is more likely to pay off than it is to backfire.
And when that culture still holds onto sexist views of women, even attempts to rectify this imbalance can backfire.
If you have to burn off the rubbish, do so in small spots at a time, then backfire toward the center.
The Pony Rider Boys in New England | Frank Gee PatchinA handful of men were still grouped around Curt, working until the last moment to spread the backfire as far as possible.
Janet Hardy in Radio City | Ruthe S. WheelerWell, way uptown on Main Street, a motorcycle did backfire right beside us—and we all jumped and had a good laugh over it.
Warren Commission (6 of 26): Hearings Vol. VI (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President KennedyIt was unusual for a motorcycle to backfire that close together, it seemed like.
Warren Commission (6 of 26): Hearings Vol. VI (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President KennedyIt sounded like a motorcycle backfire at first—the first time we heard it—the first shot.
Warren Commission (6 of 26): Hearings Vol. VI (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
British Dictionary definitions for backfire
/ (ˌbækˈfaɪə) /
(of an internal-combustion engine) to emit a loud noise as a result of an explosion in the inlet manifold or exhaust system
(of an endeavour, plan, etc) to have an unwanted effect on its perpetrator: his plans backfired on him
to start a controlled fire in order to halt an advancing forest or prairie fire by creating a barren area
(in an internal-combustion engine)
an explosion of unburnt gases in the exhaust system
a premature explosion in a cylinder or inlet manifold
a controlled fire started to create a barren area that will halt an advancing forest or prairie fire
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
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