brush fire
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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.
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Origin of brush fire
An Americanism dating back to 1770–80
Other definitions for brush fire (2 of 2)
brush-fire
or brush·fire
[ bruhsh-fahyuhr ]
/ ˈbrʌʃˌfaɪər /
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. 2022
How to use brush fire in a sentence
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.
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British Dictionary definitions for brush fire
brush fire
noun
a fire in bushes and scrub
a minor local war
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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