firebug

[ fahyuh r-buhg ]

/ ˈfaɪərˌbʌg /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR firebug ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Informal.

arsonist; incendiary; pyromaniac.

RELATED WORDS

incendiary, arsonist, pyromaniac

Nearby words

Origin of firebug

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; fire + bug¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for firebug

The firebug stopped his car and ran around the first building, which appeared to be an old barn.
Bill Bruce on Forest Patrol|Henry Harley Arnold
I've been over that thing time and time again, and I've felt like I was sort of a firebug myself sometimes.
Cap'n Eri|Joseph Crosby Lincoln
Suppose that the firebug should run through the town while the foresters were climbing up to the roof to get that message.
Bill Bruce on Forest Patrol|Henry Harley Arnold
The car was still there, but there was no sign of the firebug.
Bill Bruce on Forest Patrol|Henry Harley Arnold

The firebug Johnny had been sent out to catch certainly had some strange bent to his nature.
The Firebug|Roy J. Snell

British Dictionary definitions for firebug

firebug

/ (ˈfaɪəˌbʌɡ) /

noun

informal a person who deliberately sets fire to property

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for firebug

firebug

"arsonist," 1872, from fire (n.) + bug (n.).