backfire : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: backfire	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for backfire
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
backfire n the backward escape of gases and unburned gunpowder after a gun is fired Synonym(s): blowback, backfire a loud noise made by the explosion of fuel in the manifold or exhaust of an internal combustion engine a fire that is set intentionally in order to slow an approaching forest fire or grassfire by clearing a burned area in its path a miscalculation that recoils on its maker Synonym(s): backfire, boomerang v come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect; "Your comments may backfire and cause you a lot of trouble" Synonym(s): backfire, backlash, recoil emit a loud noise as a result of undergoing a backfire; "My old car backfires all the time" set a controlled fire to halt an advancing forest to prairie fire
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Back-fire \Back"-fire`\, v. i. 1. (Engin.) To have or experience a back fire or back fires; -- said of an internal-combustion engine. 2. Of a Bunsen or similar air-fed burner, to light so that the flame proceeds from the internal gas jet instead of from the external jet of mixed gas and air. -- {Back"-fir`ing}, n.