fire-eater

[ fahyuhr-ee-ter ]
See synonyms for: fire-eaterfire eatingfire-eating on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. an entertainer who pretends to eat fire.

  2. an easily provoked, belligerent person.

  1. U.S. History. an early and extreme Southern advocate of secession before the Civil War.

Origin of fire-eater

1
First recorded in 1665–75

Other words from fire-eater

  • fire-eating, adjective, noun

Words Nearby fire-eater

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fire-eater in a sentence

  • This man came out a good, loyal, American citizen; went back a fire-eater.

  • Becoming eager and restless on the last day, the "Fire Eater" wounded the white war-party.

    The Way of an Indian | Frederic Remington
  • On the morning of the second day the Cheyennes awoke to find the Fire Eater gone, but he had left his horses on their hands.

    The Way of an Indian | Frederic Remington
  • This man suspected nothing until the Fire Eater raised his rifle, when he turned away to fly.

    The Way of an Indian | Frederic Remington
  • The skin of the little brown bat did not comfort the Fire Eater in his fallen state.

    The Way of an Indian | Frederic Remington

British Dictionary definitions for fire-eater

fire-eater

noun
  1. a performer who simulates the swallowing of fire

  2. a belligerent person

Derived forms of fire-eater

  • fire-eating, noun, adjective

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