backfire
Americanverb (used without object)
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backfires,
present (3rd person singular)
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backfired,
past participle, past
-
backfiring
present participle
verb
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(of an internal-combustion engine) to emit a loud noise as a result of an explosion in the inlet manifold or exhaust system
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(of an endeavour, plan, etc) to have an unwanted effect on its perpetrator
his plans backfired on him
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to start a controlled fire in order to halt an advancing forest or prairie fire by creating a barren area
noun
-
-
an explosion of unburnt gases in the exhaust system
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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
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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backfiresimple
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backfiressimple
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have backfiredperfect
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has backfiredperfect
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am backfiringprogressive
-
are backfiringprogressive
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is backfiringprogressive
-
have been backfiringperfect progressive
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has been backfiringperfect progressive
Past
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backfiredsimple
-
had backfiredperfect
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was backfiringprogressive
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were backfiringprogressive
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had been backfiringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of backfire
Explanation
Use the word backfire when you talk about the sound a car makes when a small explosion in its exhaust system pops — sometimes as loudly as a gunshot. Hearing a car's backfire can make you jump, because it makes a sharp, shot-like sound. A backfire is usually caused by unburned fuel, and it can be accompanied by a burst of flame and a brief loss of power in the vehicle, as well as a fairly loud noise. The word comes from an American English term that originally referred to a fire deliberately set to slow the progress of a prairie or forest fire.
Vocabulary lists containing backfire
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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"Laws are not the only way to boost immunization”: an editorial from Nature
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Catching Fire
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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:
But there’s no way this could possibly backfire, right?
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
“Law enforcement has good intentions but they sometimes backfire with unintended consequences. Often, the more laws you create to prevent people from having a reptile, the more they want them. But sometimes prohibition does work.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Estate planning can backfire for those who get overwhelmed.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
There is a danger, however, that Lego’s light touch might backfire, and parents won’t be thrilled about paying premium prices for a toy that essentially has a few extra beeps and boops.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
There was the loud bang of a backfire and the horseless chugged forward.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
The company has long relied on this high-yielding equity as its primary engine to bankroll Bitcoin acquisitions—a strategy that backfires when the shares lose ground.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
All of the above comes with a caveat: Unbridled choice often backfires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
"Discord could lose users if its implementation of age verification backfires, but it could equally attract more new users who will be drawn to its new standards for online safety by design," he said.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026
Is there a chance this really backfires, then?
From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026
While groans, fiendish gurglings and backfires were emitting from the barn, the house itself would be organized confusion, as the family carried out its preparations in accordance with prearranged plans.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
But a police crackdown on crowds marching towards parliament on July 20 backfired, galvanising support for the movement and transforming anger over exam leaks into a broader expression of youth frustration.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
The chain has experienced other problems as well, including remodels that backfired, agitation among activist investors and same-store sales that have wobbled over Masino’s three-year tenure.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
On one occasion, turning to the bot for help navigating an in-person chat with friends actually backfired on her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
But critics claim the intended effects have backfired, instead stifling sales and slowing apartment construction by disincentivizing developers to build, as the tax eats into their profit margins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Then why didn’t humans abandon farming when the plan backfired?
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
But I also feel like there’s a huge risk of that backfiring.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Nestlé tweaked its portfolio, but investors say some acquisitions were a distraction, backfiring as the company expanded into non-core areas.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
The topic is the biggest flex—and source of stress—in Silicon Valley, where tech pros and amateurs are competing to see how much of their grunt work they can outsource to AI without things backfiring spectacularly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
At around that time, those price increases started backfiring.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 25, 2025
Like the rest of the Wizarding world, Bathilda puts Kendra’s premature death down to a backfiring charm, a story repeated by Albus and Aberforth in later years.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
