Definition of "misfire" []

• To fail to ignite when expected. Used of an internal-combustion engine. (verb-intransitive)
• To fail to discharge. Used of a firearm. (verb-intransitive)
• To fail to achieve an anticipated result: a scheme that misfired. (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.

• "Had our intelligence people arrested this Pig prior to entering the aircraft, that would constitute a thwarted attempt, a misfire is a failed attempt that surpassed all safety and screening barriers."
• "The only real misfire is the title track, in which Swift interrupts a wedding with a protestation of love for the groom ( "I am not the kind of girl who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion," she informs the gathering, somewhat awkwardly)."
• "Whatever misfire is floating around in my brain, we do overcome it."