Definition of "backfire" []

• An explosion of prematurely ignited fuel or of unburned exhaust gases in an internal-combustion engine. (noun)
• The backward escape of gases or cartridge fragments when a gun is fired. (noun)
• A fire started in the path of an oncoming fire in order to deprive it of fuel and thereby control or extinguish it. (noun)
• To explode in the manner of or make the sound of a backfire. (verb-intransitive)
• To start or use a backfire in extinguishing or controlling a forest fire. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The backfire from a bread truck coming around the corner was too close for comfort when I realized what was happening."
• "What will backfire is when Reps link Obama to Carter."
• "The phenomenon - known as "backfire" - is "a natural defense mechanism to avoid that cognitive dissonance.""