fire-eater
Americannoun
-
an entertainer who pretends to eat fire.
-
an easily provoked, belligerent person.
-
U.S. History. an early and extreme Southern advocate of secession before the Civil War.
noun
-
a performer who simulates the swallowing of fire
-
a belligerent person
Other Word Forms
- fire-eating adjective
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
On one of our last afternoons there, we wanted to shoot some nice footage and decided to meet with Lamount, a fire-eater who liked to go by “The Human Volcano”.
From The Guardian • Oct. 12, 2017
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
The silly girl was running around behind the house to the place where the fire-eater had given his performance.
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.
