brush fire
- 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.
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Origin of brush fire
An Americanism dating back to 1770–80
brush-fire
or brush·fire
[bruhsh-fahyuh r]
- limited in scope, area, or importance, as some labor disputes or local skirmishes.
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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
A couple of factors, both internal and environmental, are at play when such rapacious violence spreads like a brushfire.
They had existed beside us, beneath us rather, flaring up like brushfire since the first humanoids left the trees.
brush fire
- a fire in bushes and scrub
- a minor local war
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for brushfire
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper