brush fire

noun

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

An Americanism dating back to 1770–80

brush-fire

or brush·fire

[bruhsh-fahyuh r]

adjective

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

Origin of brush-fire

First recorded in 1945–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for brushfire

Contemporary Examples of brushfire

A couple of factors, both internal and environmental, are at play when such rapacious violence spreads like a brushfire.
You, Too, Could Be a Homicidal Zealot
Joel Gold
July 7, 2014
They had existed beside us, beneath us rather, flaring up like brushfire since the first humanoids left the trees.
The Extinction Parade: An Original Zombie Story by Max Brooks
Max Brooks
January 14, 2011

British Dictionary definitions for brushfire

brush fire

noun

a fire in bushes and scrub
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

Word Origin and History for brushfire

1850, from brush (n.2) + fire (n.).