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.
Scientists said a fireball spotted in the skies above East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire was a meteor.
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
"We've still got two more days, and riding a fireball through the atmosphere is profound as well."
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
If things get spicy, there’s always Abbey Murphy, the Minnesota scorer and fireball who will mix it up with anyone, including a goalie.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026
He didn’t really understand what had just happened to him.Those dancing lights, that fireball of rage, the adrenaline pumping like pistons in an old gas engine.
From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner
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.
