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Backfire   /bˈækfˌaɪr/   Listen
Backfire

verb
1.
Come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect.  Synonyms: backlash, recoil.
2.
Emit a loud noise as a result of undergoing a backfire.
3.
Set a controlled fire to halt an advancing forest to prairie fire.
noun
1.
The backward escape of gases and unburned gunpowder after a gun is fired.  Synonym: blowback.
2.
A loud noise made by the explosion of fuel in the manifold or exhaust of an internal combustion engine.
3.
A fire that is set intentionally in order to slow an approaching forest fire or grassfire by clearing a burned area in its path.
4.
A miscalculation that recoils on its maker.  Synonym: boomerang.






WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University








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"Backfire" Quotes from Famous Books



... or points to an enduring solution of his problem. Suppression, while very often justified and necessary in the flux of human relationship, always carries a social cost which must be liquidated, and also a backfire danger which must be insured against. The human being is born with no innate proclivity to crime or special kind of unpatriotism. Crime and treason are habit-activities, educated into man by environmental influences favorable to ...
— An American Idyll - The Life of Carleton H. Parker • Cornelia Stratton Parker



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