fireball

plural fireballs

1. A ball of fire, especially one associated with an explosion, or (fiction, mythology) thrown as a weapon.

   He placed his arms in a blocking position, but even so, the fireball threw all three of them, Kylie, Percival, and Kelly, onto the wall.

   2008, Franklin Newman, “Sleeping with the Enemy”, in The Princess of Flourae (The Knights of Callistor; 2), [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 90

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   At 7:45 p.m. there was a sudden “whooshing” noise, and a mercilessly intense fireball exploded from under the escalator, ballooned up into the ticket hall and ignited all combustible material in the area. As a result of the flashover of the fireball, the temperature rose by several hundred degrees in a matter of seconds, and it was believed that it reached 600°C with zero visibility.

   2011, Nick Bracken, Sue Black, “King’s Cross Underground Fire, November 18, 1987”, in Sue Black, G. Sunderland, Lucina Hackman, Xanthé Mallett, editors, Disaster Victim Identification: Experience and Practice (Global Perspectives on Disaster Victim Identification Series), Boca Raton, Fla.; London: CRC Press, →ISBN, page 65

   In a moment, he was caught by the blast. He threw up his arms to cover his head as the surge of energy created by the fireball threw him aside.

   2014 October, Don Pendleton [pseudonym], chapter 14, in Maximum Chaos (A Gold Eagle Book; The Executioner; 431), Don Mills, Ont.: Worldwide Library, →ISBN, page 121

   At the time of this photo, Royal Marine Gunner Bryan Gasson is pretty much dead centre in this photo, and yes, that means he is literally inside that socking great fireball as the magazines detonate.

   2021 March 14, Drachinifel [pseudonym], 1:05:17 from the start, in The Drydock – Episode 137, archived from the original on 08 Nov 2022

   As Elon Musk returns his focus to his businesses, one of his most important companies just had another setback: A SpaceX Starship rocket exploded in an immense fireball Wednesday during a routine ground test.

   2025 June 19, Hadas Gold, Jackie Wattles, “Elon Musk’s SpaceX rockets keep blowing up at the worst possible time”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 02 Jul 2025

2. figurativelyinformalA feisty, strong-willed person.

   Her folks have a lot of money. I've never seen her, but she must be quite a fireball.

   1954 October 3, Dorothy Cooper, “Bud Takes Up the Dance”, in Father Knows Best, season 1, episode 1, spoken by Betty (Rhoda Williams), New York, N.Y.: CBS, →OCLC

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   But ſure in a family it bodeth moſt bad, vvhen tvvo firebals (huſbands and vvives anger) come both together.

   1642, Thomas Fuller, “The Good Wife”, in The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLC, book I, paragraph 2, page 2

   And Lydia's a sassy little fireball. Today's her first day of first grade, and I'm just glad her teacher hasn't had to call.

   2022 February 23, Jocelyn Samara D., “Tie the Knot”, in Rain (webcomic), archived from the original on 08 May 2024

3. figurativelyball gamesSynonym of fastball (“a high-speed pitch of a baseball”).

   Synonyms: fastball

4. space flightA bright glow caused by a spacecraft re-entering an atmosphere.
5. astronomyA meteor bright enough to cast shadows; a bolide.

   Ninety-four years after the Tunguska fireball. […] A US Air Force spots an object as it enters the atmosphere, but loses track of it as it falls below 30 kilometres. Moments later a second satellite records a fireball exploding in the clouded sky.

   2005, Surendra Verma, “A Fireball in the Dinosaurs’ Sky”, in The Mystery of the Tunguska Fireball, Thriplow, Cambridgeshire: Icon Books, published 2006, →ISBN, page 234

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   [page 1] There ſeem to be three concentric ſtrata of our incumbent atmoſphere; in vvhich, or betvveen them, are produced four kinds of meteors; lightning, ſhooting ſtars, fire-balls, and northern lights. […] [page 2] Dr. [Charles] Blagden has related the hiſtory of another large meteor, or fire-ball, vvhich vvas ſeen the 18th of Auguſt, 1783, vvith many ingenious obſervations and conjectures.

   1791, [Erasmus Darwin], “Additional Notes. Note I.—Meteors.”, in The Botanic Garden; a Poem, in Two Parts. […], London: J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, part I (The Economy of Vegetation), pages 1–2

   In December 1997, a fireball passed eastward before dawn over the southwestern corner of Greenland, and then blew up into at least four fragments. Just five days later, according to reports from Colombia, three fireballs struck Bogotá, one of them causing the death of four children by setting their home ablaze.

   2003, Trevor Palmer, “Catastrophes on Earth”, in Perilous Planet Earth: Catastrophes and Catastrophism through the Ages, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, section C (From 1980 to the Present Day: Catastrophism Strikes Back), page 201

   Synonyms: bolis

6. nauticalA class of sailing dinghy with a single trapeze and a symmetrical spinnaker, sailed by a crew of two.
7. historicalengineeringA bag or ball filled with combustible material which is thrown as a weapon or to set something alight.

   [T]he ſlingers and archers together, vvith others alſo tumbling dovvne huge ſtones, vvith firebrands and fireballs, ſet them further off.

   1609, Ammianus Marcellinus, “[The XXIIII. Booke.] Chapter VII. The Most Strong Assault of the Said Citie. The Painefull Toyle, Industrie, and Fortitude, as well of the Besiegers as Besieged. At Length by Undermining the Walls are Overthrowne..”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Roman Historie, […], London: […] Adam Jslip, →OCLC, pages 249–250

   1. historicalengineeringA charge depicting a disc-shaped bombshell with flames emitted from the top, or sometimes from the top, bottom, and on either side.
8. obsoleteAn emanation of St. Elmo's fire; also (later), of ball lightning.

   [T]here vvas ſuch a Tempeſt & thunder vvith great firebals of lightning, that the vault of the church brake, and halfe the Chancell vvas carried avvay.

   1611, Iohn Speed [i.e., John Speed], “Henrie the Fourth, King of England, and France, […]”, in The History of Great Britaine under the Conquests of yͤ Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans. […], London: […] William Hall and John Beale, for John Sudbury and George Humble, […], →OCLC, book IX ([Englands Monarchs] […]), paragraph 26, page 616, column 1

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   It is an obſervation of Seamen, That if a ſingle meteor or fireball falls on their maſt, it portends ill luck; but if tvvo come together (vvhich they count Caſtor and Pollux) they preſage good ſucceſſe: […]

   1642, Thomas Fuller, “The Good Wife”, in The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLC, book I, paragraph 2, page 2

9. obsoleteA ball-shaped firelighter (“small block of a flammable substance, typically a combination of sawdust and wax, used to light fires”).
10. obsoleteA ball of heat-resistant material placed in a fire to slow down the burning of the fuel.
11. figurativelyobsoleteA statement intended to cause dissension or as a provocation.

1. not comparableslangExcellent, terrific.

   "Give us a hand," said Mack. "How's she look?" / "Fireball," said Eddie.

   1954 June 10, John Steinbeck, “Sweet Thursday Revisited”, in Sweet Thursday, 1st British edition, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, page 258

   Synonyms: ace, admirable, amazing, awe-inspiring, awesome, badass, broyal, bang on · Antonyms: abysmal, atrocious, awful, bad, chronic, coarse, corny, crap

present singular third person fireballs · participle present fireballing · participle past fireballed · past fireballed

1. transitivefantasyTo attack (someone or something) with balls of fire.
2. intransitiveTo explode in a ball of fire or flame.

   The car swerved off a road, hit a wall, and fireballed as the petrol tank exploded.

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   On Feb. 24, [Yaroslava] Mahuchikh (pronounced ma-GU–chi-huh or ma-HU-chick) was startled awake by shuddering booms in Dnipro, her hometown, in east-central Ukraine. Russia had begun its invasion. An explosion, caught on video, fireballed into the dark sky. Dnipro's airport and area military facilities had come under attack.

   2022 July 15, Jeré Longman, “‘Sometimes I am crying in the room’”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Aug 2024

3. figurativelyintransitiveTo emerge suddenly; to explode.

   But the swoon was only brief. [Klay] Thompson scorched his way to 27 first-half points, the Warriors fireballed back into a 17-point lead and a statement half was sealed from the deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep left corner, early in the clock and without a dribble – vintage Klay, vintage Warriors.

   2019 March 9, Anthony Slater, “Five Observations from the Warriors’ 122–105 Win over the Nuggets”, in The Athletic, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, archived from the original on 13 Aug 2024

4. intransitiveball gamesTo pitch a baseball very fast.