backfire
verb (used without object)
(of an internal-combustion engine) to have a loud, premature explosion in the intake manifold.
is backfiring
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present progressiveof backfire (3rd person singular).present progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or state that is currently taking place in the immediate present.
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.
Mr. Trump is frustrated that his Administration’s criminal investigation into Mr. Powell over a cost overrun on a Fed building renovation is backfiring in a big way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
If anything, making himself the centerpiece of a "woe is me" campaign is backfiring.
From Salon ● Mar. 20, 2025
Danny Shaw, a footwear branding consultant, wrote on LinkedIn, that this approach is backfiring.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2019
By those measures, so far the strategy is backfiring.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 11, 2019
A Bud Light campaign is backfiring after drinkers spotted a curious slogan on some of the brand’s beer bottles.
From MSNBC ● Apr. 29, 2015
