noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of campfire
Explanation
A campfire is a small fire that you build when you're camping. A campfire is good for cooking food, boiling water, or warming your hands. Most boy and girl scouts learn how to build a campfire, which is useful when you're hiking or camping overnight. A campfire is perfect for toasting hot dogs and marshmallows, heating water for hot chocolate, and for sitting nearby when you tell ghost stories after dark. It's important to make sure a campfire is completely extinguished before you leave your camp site.
Vocabulary lists containing campfire
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:
Britain's The Guardian newspaper said the movie "entertains us with creepy campfire tales" but the Hollywood Reporter called it a "dull existential drama" while The Wrap website described it as a "frustrating slog".
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
The film got three stars from Tim Robey, external at The Telegraph, who notes the film's "action interludes are more nonsensical than scary" and "provide momentary dumb fun when Scott's campfire apocalypse needs waking up".
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
“Her Private Hell” is not merely glittering debris, as some have posited, nor is it style over substance; it’s a campfire story told by Thatcher’s unearthly orator, with just as much chilling impact.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
On the opening “The Outlaw Cherie Lee,” as if sitting around a campfire, actor Jamie Foxx introduces the mythical story.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Around the embers of each campfire, bundles of grass and twigs had been wrapped in blankets.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
He urged people not to light disposable barbecues or campfires in green spaces, avoid dropping lit cigarettes and take litter home.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Maine’s camp culture combines rustic canoe trips and campfires with a polished social ecosystem that brings convoys of black SUVs to the state every summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
On Thursday, the agency said that the Angeles National Forest is now at the extreme fire danger level, meaning campfires, stoves, barbecues or open flames are prohibited.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2025
In Northern California, fire-evacuation “go bags” are normal, campfires are essentially a thing of the past, and even people living outside take fire risks seriously.
From Slate ● Nov. 12, 2024
“I remember with more pleasure the weekend outings, with hikes, sports, campfires, and youth hosteling,” she said.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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