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fire-breathing

fire-breathing

4 7.7
Able to blow fire from the mouth like a dragon
  • adjective
  • /ˈfaɪərˌbrɛðɪŋ/
translation icon : que escupe fuego
  • Again, they moved farther along the coast to meet a third trio of fire-breathing giants.
  • fire-breathing dragon
  • fire-breathing monster
  • fire-breathing beast

They wake up fire breathing Dragons, eating nails and spitting blood.

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Examples

  • "She was locked away in a castle "guarded by a terrible fire-breathing dragon.

  • And as the boy drank more broth and even ate a little bread, Alaric sang of knights, fair maidens, and fire-breathing monsters.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • A big, green, fire-breathing dragon.

  • That contest would decide who was the fire-breathing pro!

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Not the fire-breathing monster she'd been expecting? More like a character out of a comic strip.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • I am going to go to the belly of the beast and see a fire-breathing dragon and take out my sword.

    Blog text (32)
  • One of the shows developed on the Las Vegas Strip several years ago involved the use of a fire-breathing robotic dragon.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Ladies and gentlemen, gather around and be amazed at the fire-breathing feats of El Diablo.

  • Who wouldn't want to be a giant, fire-breathing robotic Tyrannosaurus Rex?

    Blog text (10)
  • Ladies and gentlemen, gather around and be amazed at the fire-breathing feats of El Diablo.

Surface Forms

fire-breathing positive

Morphology

fire-breathing = fire + breathing (transparent) = fire + breathe + ing

Clear compound of 'fire' + 'breathing' meaning 'able to breathe fire'; learners can readily infer the sense from the parts.

Etymology

Fire-breathing is a simple compound of fire and breathing and literally means 'breathing out fire', like a dragon or a performer who blows a flame from their mouth. So we use it for any person or creature said to be able to send fire from their mouth.