fireball
Americannoun
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a ball of fire, as the sun; a shooting star.
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a luminous meteor, sometimes exploding.
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lightning having the appearance of a globe of fire; ball lightning.
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the highly luminous central portion of a nuclear explosion.
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a ball filled with explosive or combustible material, used as a projectile to injure the enemy by explosion or to set fire to their works.
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Informal. an exceptionally energetic or ambitious person.
noun
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a ball-shaped discharge of lightning
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the bright spherical region of hot ionized gas at the centre of a nuclear explosion
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astronomy another name for bolide
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slang an energetic person
Etymology
Origin of fireball
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.
But I did overshare here recently about my Atomic Fireball habit, and while they’re usually individually wrapped, I found a packet with two the other day, so I doubled up.
From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026
Closely held Sazerac has 550 brands, including Buffalo Trace bourbon, Fireball Cinnamon Whisky and BuzzBallz ready-to-drink cocktails.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
Wind and other weather data, as well as any information gathered by the UK Fireball Alliance, is used to help work out where meteorites land.
From BBC • Jul. 4, 2025
The network selects the very dramatic Lily Fireball as the show’s feisty villain, and Murray sees trouble on the set.
From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2024
As I said, Fireball was always fierce, but our community had made their own choices, and now that its existence was announced online, it was also out of our hands.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
