foxfire

or fox-fire

[ foks-fahyuhr ]

/ ˈfɒksˌfaɪər /

Save This Word!

noun Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S.

organic luminescence, especially from certain fungi on decaying wood.

any of various fungi causing luminescence in decaying wood.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of foxfire

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at fox, fire

Words nearby foxfire

Foxborough, fox brush, Foxe, Foxe Basin, foxed, foxfire, foxglove, fox grape, foxhole, foxhound, fox hunt

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use foxfire in a sentence

Are you still friends with your Foxfire co-star, Angelina Jolie?
Jenny Lewis on 'The Voyager,' the End of Rilo Kiley, and High School Classmate Angelina Jolie|Marlow Stern|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Angel knelt beside his flower bed and recklessly tore up by the roots a big bunch of foxfire.
Freckles|Gene Stratton-Porter
Suspicion glinted like foxfire in the cold green eyes beneath her puckered brows.
The Black Bag|Louis Joseph Vance
That that grows out of the foxfire in the swamp has its roots too far back in the inheritance of the race to be discounted.
Old Plymouth Trails|Winthrop Packard

These should have been far more terrifying than any foxfire.
Old Plymouth Trails|Winthrop Packard

British Dictionary definitions for foxfire

foxfire

/ (ˈfɒksˌfaɪə) /

noun

a luminescent glow emitted by certain fungi on rotting woodSee also bioluminescence

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