'back fire' definitions:

Definition of 'back fire'

From: GCIDE
  • backfire \backfire\, back fire \back fire\
  • 1. A fire started ahead of a forest or prairie fire to burn only against the wind, so that when the two fires meet both must go out for lack of fuel. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  • 2. (a) A premature explosion in the cylinder of a gas or oil engine during the exhaust or the compression stroke, tending to drive the piston in a direction reverse to that in which it should travel; also called a knock or ping. (b) an explosion in the exhaust passages of an internal combustion engine. [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC] Backfire

Words containing 'back fire'