Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
backfire en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈbækfaɪə(ɹ)/
- (General-American) audio
- (Southern-England) audio
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From back + fire.
Meanings
-
A premature explosion in the cylinder of a gas or oil engine during the exhaust or the compression stroke, tending to drive the piston in the wrong direction.
-
An explosion in the exhaust passages of an internal combustion engine.
As much of Seattle tries to sleep, the Hellcat supercar goes on the prowl, the howls of its engine and the explosive backfires from its tailpipes echoing off the high-rise towers downtown.
2024 May 29, Mike Baker, “Sleepless in Seattle as a Hellcat Roars Through the Streets”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 06 Jun 2024:
-
An explosion in other equipment.
The chief causes of rectifier backfiring in the Glasgow units were overheating or unfavourable anode/cathode temperature differential; it has proved possible to overcome these, although occasional backfires do still occur.
1962 July, “Failures of multiple-unit electric trains on British Railways”, in Modern Railways, page 53:
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(alt-of, alternative) Alternative form of back fire.
A firefighter monitors a backfire while battling the Carr Fire on July 27. […] A firefighter lights backfires in Redding on July 27.
2018 August 13, “Massive wildfires scorching California”, in CNN, archived from the original on 11 May 2026:
Forms
Deriveds
backfire effect
Synonyms
knock (premature explosion in engine cylinder) · ping (premature explosion in engine cylinder)
wikipedia: Mercedes-Benz C-class
backfire en · VERB
Pronunciation
- /ˈbækfaɪə(ɹ)/
- (General-American) audio
- /bækˈfaɪə(ɹ)/
- (Southern-England) audio
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From back + fire.
Meanings
-
(intransitive) Of a gun, cannon, Bunsen burner, etc., to fire in the opposite direction, for example due to an obstruction in the barrel.
-
(intransitive) Of a reciprocating engine, to experience a premature ignition of fuel or an ignition of exhaust gases, making a popping sound.
It was just after the Biafran war, and all the local people were still jumpy. Any time a car backfired or a police siren howled, they would dive under desks or tables instinctively.
1991 February 4, Ayofemi Folayan, “No Sounds Of Silence”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 28, page 7:
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(idiomatic, transitive) To fail in a manner that brings down further misfortune.
Her plan backfired on her.
Obsessed only with cost, 'Sir Humphrey' saw that Transport for London 'got away' with ticket office closures on the Tube with only minor public pushback and miscalculated that it could do the same on the national network. This assumption backfired spectacularly.
2023 August 9, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Disinterested and dishonest”, in RAIL, number 989, page 3:His attempt to make money by importing luxury cars backfired horribly when fuel prices tripled.
-
To set a back fire (small, controlled fire to limit spread of a larger fire).
Forms
Translations (30)
es tener el efecto contrario (fail) · fi epäonnistua (fail) · ru привести́ к обра́тным результа́там (fail) · es tener contraefecto (fail) · it avere effetto contrario (fail) · pl odnieść odwrotny skutek (fail) · sh vratiti se (fail) · fi mennä pieleen (fail) · fr retour de flamme (fail) · pl strzelić w gaźniku (to experience a premature ignition of fuel or an ignition of exhaust gases, making a popping sound) · es petardear (to experience a premature ignition of fuel or an ignition of exhaust gases, making a popping sound) · sh obiti se o glavu (fail) · fi kostautua (fail) · pl odnosić odwrotny skutek (fail) · pt sair pela culatra (fail) · da give bagslag (fail) · fr contrecoup subi (fail) · pt sair o tiro pela culatra (fail) · sv slå slint (fail) · es tener efecto retroactivo (fail) · es jugar una mala pasada (fail) · fr avoir l'effet inverse (fail) · nl falen (fail) · nl averechts werken (fail) · pl strzelać w gaźniku (to experience a premature ignition of fuel or an ignition of exhaust gases, making a popping sound) · de nach hinten losgehen (fail) · es salir el tiro por la culata (fail) · de fehlschlagen (fail) · fr se retourner contre (fail) · ru приводи́ть к обра́тным результа́там (fail)