bonfire
Americannoun
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bonfires
plural
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a large fire built in the open air, for warmth, entertainment, or celebration, to burn leaves, garbage, etc., or as a signal.
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any fire built in the open.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bonfire
1375–1425; late Middle English bone fire, i.e., a fire with bones for fuel
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Fireworks were let off at 22:45 before the bonfire at the Lecky Road was started.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
A man has died after he reportedly fell from an Eleventh Night bonfire in Belfast.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
"Incidents like this that you see on top of the bonfire only deepen those fears and make people question whether they are fully and truly accepted and safe in Northern Ireland."
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
The effigy was placed on top of the pyre on Wednesday evening and the bonfire was due to be lit on Friday.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
The Tale of the Three Brothers and the Djinn might be a comedy if you hear it in the market in Isfahan, or it might be a hero’s journey around a bonfire in Ardestan.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
People are advised to take home litter, avoid smoking and using barbecues, and not to light campfires or bonfires.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
“We’ve been burning our bonfires and our traditions for like forever.”
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
Elsewhere, some bonfires have caused controversy because they include the display of contentious images and the burning of sensitive symbols such as national flags.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
They mounted double-decker buses and utility poles, waved flags, lit bonfires and danced the Hokey Pokey around a statue of Queen Victoria.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Nailer stared at the bonfires, thinking about the nature of luck.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
