flareback
Americannoun
-
a blast of flame that sometimes issues from the breech of a large gun or cannon when it is opened after firing.
-
a brief, unexpected recurrence.
a flareback of winter in May.
Etymology
Origin of flareback
First recorded in 1900–05; noun use of verb phrase flare back
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.
It has happened also that destructive insects often undergo a “flareback,” or resurgence, after spraying, in numbers greater than before.
From The New Yorker
It has happened also because, for reasons to be described later, destructive insects often undergo a “flareback,” or resurgence, after spraying, in numbers greater than before.
From Literature
Caught in a flareback of history, desperate Democrats tried with might & main to wriggle out of the Harry Dexter White scandal.
From Time Magazine Archive
The new light, approved by a subcommittee of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, gives wider vision down the righthand side of the road, has greater overall range, cuts down on flareback in fog and rain, thus virtually eliminates the need for separate fog lights.
From Time Magazine Archive
Why, there, if a college student comes downtown with a flareback coat and heart-shaped trousers and one of those nifty little pompadour hats that are brushed back from the brow to give the brains a chance to grow, they arrest him for collecting a crowd and disturbing traffic.
From Project Gutenberg
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.