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• brush fire
  brush fire

  noun

  a fire in an area of bushes, shrubs, or brush, as distinct from a forest fire.
• brush-fire
  brush-fire

  adjective

  limited in scope, area, or importance, as some labor disputes or local skirmishes.

brush fire

¹ American  

noun

1. a fire in an area of bushes, shrubs, or brush, as distinct from a forest fire.

2. any small but persistent problem, as within a large organization, a department of a government, or between nations.

   border skirmishes and other international brush fires.

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brush-fire ² American  

[bruhsh-fahy^uhr] / ˈbrʌʃˌfaɪər /

Or brushfire

adjective

1. limited in scope, area, or importance, as some labor disputes or local skirmishes.

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brush fire British  

noun

1. a fire in bushes and scrub

2. a minor local war

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Etymology

Origin of brush fire¹

An Americanism dating back to 1770–80

Origin of brush-fire²

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

brush fire brush-fire

Reports in French media say the blaze, near one of the parking lots at the airport, originated from a brush fire and then spread to a building.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Three homes were damaged by flames when a small brush fire ignited in Eagle Rock on Thursday afternoon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026

A brush fire in the foothills west of Murrieta in Riverside County grew to more than 100 acres and forced evacuations Tuesday before firefighters began to contain the blaze.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

A brush fire broke out Monday in the suburbs of Los Angeles, spreading rapidly and prompting authorities to issue evacuation orders for thousands of residents.

From Barron's ● May 19, 2026

But this time, it spread fast as a brush fire on a windy day.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

This approach would mimic the brush-fire pattern of the epidemic at the moment.

From Washington Post

And Lockheed, the biggest beneficiary of the Pentagon's new emphasis on brush-fire mobility and military airlift, last March won a contract to build the big military transport plane of the future, the 158-ton. 550-m.p.h.

From Time Magazine Archive

But whatever was wrong with the sometimes tragic, sometimes messy operation, it still managed to keep a brush-fire war from spreading into a wider conflict.

From Time Magazine Archive

They have another prime reason: after ten years of secret planning, the U.S. is on the verge of developing a true "clean bomb," with enormous implications for both brush-fire war and big-war tactics.

From Time Magazine Archive

Drop ’em in, and I’ll run like a brush-fire through the town and across the old bridge, and hide ’em as safe as a weasel’s nap.”

From The Only Woman in the Town And Other Tales of the American Revolution by Prichard, Sarah J.