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Glite Dictionary
🔄 To go wrong 💥 To make a bang 💥 A loud noise 🔄 A bad result 🔥 A control fire 🔥 To set a fire
to backfire

to backfire

7.4
To set a fire on purpose to burn fuel ahead of a wildfire and stop it
  • verb
  • /ˈbækˌfaɪər/
  • Specialized
: hacer un contrafuego
  • To protect the forest, the rangers will backfire some areas to prevent the fire from spreading further.

Examples

  • I think it backfired.

    The Hangover (2009)

  • Burn the gun, place them to backfire.

    Boy Kills World (2024)

  • Officials opted to pull back to roads and backfire, leaving the bulk of the mountain to burn itself out during the height of summer.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The firefighters decided to backfire in order to create a controlled burn that would stop the advancing wildfire.

  • In the fight against the wildfire, they used a backfire strategy to eliminate potential fuel for the flames.

Synonyms

to burn off
vsto backfire
35 5.6

Clear land of plants by burning them

is started specifically to halt an advancing forest or prairie fire

Antonyms

to put out a fire
7 2.5

Stop a fire burning and spreading

Phrasal Verbs

to backfire spectacularly
1 7.7

To fail in a way that makes things much worse

How Controlled

to backfire
  • Specialized
7.4
to set alight
  • UK
3 4.2
to ignite
69 4.0

Surface Forms

backfire infinitive
backfired past
backfired past participle
backfiring present participle
backfires third person singular

Morphology

backfire = back + fire (transparent) = back + fire

The verb denotes the act of setting a fire to burn back toward an approaching blaze; the morphological composition is literal.

Etymology

The word backfire comes from back ('behind') and fire ('burning'). To backfire is to set a small fire behind an advancing blaze so the fire will remove fuel and stop the main fire.