backfire
Americanverb (used without object)
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
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an explosion of unburnt gases in the exhaust system
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a premature explosion in a cylinder or inlet manifold
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a controlled fire started to create a barren area that will halt an advancing forest or prairie fire
Etymology
Origin of backfire
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.
It’s true that forced treatment doesn’t always get the desired outcome, and can backfire if it makes the person more resistant to treatment.
From Los Angeles Times
The Beatles’ attempt to protect their income stream would backfire twice, costing them control of their own songs, but it also helped shape one of today’s most coveted asset classes.
Tech companies as well as some digital-rights and children’s groups, however, say age-limit measures are blunt instruments that are likely to backfire.
That has the potential to backfire, he and others said.
From Los Angeles Times
It was a high-risk strategy and there were moments in the first 45 minutes when it looked like it might backfire.
From BBC
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.
