fire-eater
Americannoun
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an entertainer who pretends to eat fire.
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an easily provoked, belligerent person.
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U.S. History. an early and extreme Southern advocate of secession before the Civil War.
noun
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a performer who simulates the swallowing of fire
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a belligerent person
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fire-eater
First recorded in 1665–75
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.
Her partner, fire-eater Antonio Candella, has also found lockdown hard.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2020
Despite his militant posture in recent years, Davis had not been a genuine fire-eater but a “national Democrat” who had hoped to defend southern rights within the Union through control of the Democratic Party.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018
Mr. Kahl’s first wife was the fire-eater in the sideshow; his second runs a gift shop in Coney Island.
From New York Times ● Aug. 4, 2013
Minott was a teenage fire-eater and acrobat who would entertain guests when the band played.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 24, 2010
He and two companions had dragged the fire-eater back here, where Capricorn had, in his own characteristic way, questioned him about Silvertongue and the book.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
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.
