fireball
Americannoun
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fireballs
plural
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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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
As this nuclear fireball grows, it mixes with the surrounding atmosphere, cools, and eventually condenses into tiny solid particles that become nuclear fallout.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2026
Footage from the scene shows a fireball at the refinery, with thick smoke billowing out across the city.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
She said: "Based on the fireball trajectory, the event occurred over the North Sea so, sadly, we do not expect any recoverable meteorites."
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
When it does, the agency expects to lose communication for about six minutes as the Orion capsule holding the astronauts is enveloped in a fireball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
The fireball continued rolling and rising, twisting itself into an enormous mushroom shape, glowing dark purple thousands of feet above the desert.
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
A ban on "hulla parties" -- groups deployed to drive elephants away using "fireballs" and burning stakes -- is required, it said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Most of us have seen photos of the first atomic blasts—the ever-expanding mushroom clouds, the fireballs, the vast devastation—that would end World War II and forever change our lives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Stonehaven's Hogmanay fireballs event will be going ahead, with about 10,000 people expected to attend.
From BBC ● Dec. 30, 2025
Frantic, he helped his parents hoist his six younger siblings over a backyard fence as fireballs of ignited crude descended around their home, just across the street.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2025
Rockets shooting, fireballs bursting, comets shrieking, sparks sizzling.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
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