backfiring

B3A1C3K5F4I1R1I1N1G2

noun

The occurrence of a backfire.

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Meanings

nounbackfiring (countable and uncountable, plural backfirings)

plural backfirings

  1. countableuncountableThe occurrence of a backfire.
    1 more example

    Backfiring in mercury arc rectifiers has now been pinpointed as the primary cause of the Glasgow transformer failures. […] 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
  2. countablefigurativelyuncountableA failure that leads to further misfortune.
verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of backfire
Cite this entry
APA

backfiring. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backfiring

MLA

“backfiring.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backfiring. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “backfiring,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backfiring.

Source: backfiring on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.