backfire

plural backfires

1. 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.

   Synonyms: knock, ping

2. 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

3. 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

4. alternativefirefightingAlternative 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

present singular third person backfires · participle present backfiring · participle past backfired · past backfired

1. intransitiveOf a gun, cannon, Bunsen burner, etc., to fire in the opposite direction, for example due to an obstruction in the barrel.
2. intransitiveOf 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

3. idiomatictransitiveTo fail in a manner that brings down further misfortune.

   Her plan backfired on her.

   2 more examples

   His attempt to make money by importing luxury cars backfired horribly when fuel prices tripled.

   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

4. firefightingTo set a back fire (small, controlled fire to limit spread of a larger fire).