misfire
Americanverb (used without object)
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(of a rifle or gun or of a bullet or shell) to fail to fire or explode.
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(of an internal-combustion engine) to fail to ignite properly or when expected.
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to fail to achieve the desired result, effect, etc..
His criticisms completely misfired.
noun
verb
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(of a firearm or its projectile) to fail to fire, explode, or ignite as or when expected
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(of a motor engine or vehicle, etc) to fail to fire at the appropriate time, often causing a backfire
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to fail to operate or occur as intended
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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misfiresimple
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misfiressimple
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have misfiredperfect
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has misfiredperfect
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am misfiringprogressive
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are misfiringprogressive
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is misfiringprogressive
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have been misfiringperfect progressive
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has been misfiringperfect progressive
Past
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misfiredsimple
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had misfiredperfect
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was misfiringprogressive
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were misfiringprogressive
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had been misfiringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of misfire
Explanation
When an engine or weapon misfires, it doesn't function or ignite correctly. When a plan misfires, it doesn't work quite the way you imagined it would. The original meaning of misfire is gun-related; when pulling a trigger doesn't result in the gun firing, the gun misfires. Around the turn of the 20th century, the word began to be used for combustion engines that couldn't get started because their fuel wouldn't ignite. Figuratively, misfire is good for describing ideas that don't ignite: "I'm afraid my plan to talk my parents into taking us to Disney World may misfire in the end."
Vocabulary lists containing misfire
Loaded Words from the Gun Violence Debate
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: mis-
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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.
See Examples For:
For empathy not to misfire in the policy sphere, he contends, we need a “cultural theory of mind,” where “one culture puts itself in the mind of another culture.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
There were 15 reported firework-related deaths nationwide in 2025, with most involving misuse and device misfire or malfunctions, according to the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
Blue Origin has been looking to move past that misfire and begin launching satellites for Amazon.com.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
A late misfire out of touch cost them - Gael Fickou sealed it soon after - but that was a scary experience for France.
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2025
Anyone who knows anything about firearms will tell you that a 9mm handgun cannot misfire in the way that gun did.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
People on the receiving end of misfires are freaking out, when they aren’t cracking up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
Even if Pangram misfires on a given op-ed, the study’s broader pattern—that A.I. use is showing up across major newspaper opinion pages, his own included—is impossible to argue with.
From Slate ● Apr. 17, 2026
Intel has had strategic misfires for decades, Meeks said, and government support won’t be enough to save it.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026
For each of those successes, there are several messy misfires: The wan camp of “The Politician.”
From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2026
“Don’t be so sure—and don’t be so hard on yourself, kid. The transporter misfires now and again, but Ma don’t make mistakes. Could be this is all part of her plan.”
From "Dragons in a Bag" by Zetta Elliott
He had misfired so badly off the 18th tee that he didn’t even know where his ball had gone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
And having misfired of late, polls suggest that Japan's first woman Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi might manage to bring back the glory days with a thumping election win on Sunday.
From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026
Cohen says that progressives have misfired in their decision to challenge him.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2025
Abbie Ward was pinged for a needless offside and the line-out misfired, with three going astray in the first half.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2025
By my word, I think your musket misfired.
From Caribbee by Hoover, Thomas
Once more, Gotham’s NBA concern had come out sleepy and misfiring in a finals game.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Howe's decision to make Gordon the focal point of his attack instead of the misfiring Nick Woltemade paid off after just three minutes.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
Vance has been repeatedly ratioed on X ever since, a small but telling sign that the usual outrage machine is misfiring.
From Salon ● Jan. 14, 2026
Snell’s outing was a grind from the start, with Rushing misfiring to first base for an error in the first inning and Betts reacting slowly to a ground ball at shortstop to extend the second.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2025
Maybe between the heat and the stress her brain was misfiring entirely.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
