brush fire


noun
  1. a fire in an area of bushes, shrubs, or brush, as distinct from a forest fire.

  2. any small but persistent problem, as within a large organization, a department of a government, or between nations: border skirmishes and other international brush fires.

Origin of brush fire

1
An Americanism dating back to 1770–80

Words Nearby brush fire

Other definitions for brush-fire (2 of 2)

brush-fire

or brush·fire

[ bruhsh-fahyuhr ]

adjective
  1. limited in scope, area, or importance, as some labor disputes or local skirmishes.

Origin of brush-fire

2
First recorded in 1945–50

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

How to use brush fire in a sentence

  • Our fire-bell sounds just as terrible for a little brush fire as it would for a flaming powder-mill.

    Homeburg Memories | George Helgesen Fitch

British Dictionary definitions for brush fire

brush fire

noun
  1. a fire in bushes and scrub

  2. a minor local war

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