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Showing results for ball of fire. Search instead for barrage fire.
Synonyms

ball of fire

American  

noun

  1. a dynamic person capable of or displaying rapid and highly effective thought, action, etc..

    The new manager turned out to be a ball of fire.


ball of fire British  

noun

  1. informal a very lively person

"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

ball of fire Idioms  
  1. A dynamic, energetic, and successful individual, as in I hope Pat joins us; she's a real ball of fire. [Slang; early 1800s]


Etymology

Origin of ball of fire

First recorded in 1815–25

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:

The selloff came after a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded on its launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Fla., sending a ball of fire into the sky.

From Barron's May 29, 2026

A rocket being tested by Jeff Bezos’ space company exploded Thursday night, sending an enormous ball of fire into the sky.

From The Wall Street Journal May 29, 2026

We also didn’t want to wait too long, get stuck in traffic, and abandon our Mazda on the side of the road as we had to outrun a ball of fire on foot.

From Slate Jan. 9, 2025

Prof Ramesh says when we look at the Sun from the Earth, we see an orange ball of fire which is the photosphere - the Sun's surface or the brightest part of the star.

From BBC Nov. 26, 2024

One of the figure’s hands was reaching up, holding a ball of fire, as if it were stealing the flames from above, and the other hand projected light, like it was a film.

From "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick

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