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bushfire

American  
[boosh-fahyuhr] / ˈbʊʃˌfaɪər /

noun

  1. an uncontrolled fire in the trees and bushes of scrubland.

bushfire British  
/ ˈbʊʃˌfaɪə /

noun

  1. an uncontrolled fire in the bush; a scrub or forest fire

"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

Etymology

Origin of bushfire

First recorded in 1865–70; bush 1 + fire

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.

Police said one person had died in a bushfire near the town of Longwood, about two hours' drive north of state capital Melbourne.

From Barron's • Jan. 11, 2026

Another bushfire near the small town of Walwa crackled with lightning as it radiated enough heat to form a localised thunderstorm, fire authorities said.

From Barron's • Jan. 9, 2026

One prince is an "absolute true-blue legend" whose vibrant eyes "blazed like a bushfire" while another is a "bit of a yobbo" who thinks others are "carrying on like a pack of galahs".

From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025

After all, there are no houses in the path of the underwater bushfire.

From BBC • Jul. 22, 2025

The schools were an ever-spreading network from the south stretching northward, on our heels like a bushfire.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

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.