backfire

Etymology

It is formed from English back + fire,^[2][3][4][5] originally in American English.^[3][6] The OED takes the first element as the adjective, the Shorter Oxford as the adverb.^[2][5] The verb is either from the noun or a back-formation from backfiring.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A fire lit ahead of an advancing forest or prairie fire to deprive it of fuel: Merriam-Webster dates this sense to 1801,^[4] Etymonline to 1832^[3] and the OED to 1839, in C. M. Kirkland's A New Home, labelling it North American and Australian.^[2] Dictionary.com dates the word to 1775–85.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The verb was first used in the same sense, of lighting such a fire, from 1886 in the OED, while Merriam-Webster dates the verb to 1852.^[2][3][4] With the internal-combustion engine the noun came to mean a premature ignition or explosion of fuel, recorded by 1897,^[2][3] and the verb, of an engine or its fuel, followed in 1902, in Kipling; it was soon extended to firearms.^[2] The figurative verb, of a plan or scheme that harms its originator rather than its target, is recorded from 1912, from the accidental back-firing of guns,^[3] and the figurative noun from 1925.^[2] In American slang the verb has also meant to break wind.^[7]

Timeline

• 1801 – a fire lit to check an advancing fire.^[4] Etymonline dates it to 1832, the OED to 1839.^[3][2]
• 1852 – verb, to make a backfire.^[4] The OED and Etymonline date the verb to 1886.^[2][3]
• 1897 – a premature explosion in an internal-combustion engine.^[2][3]
• 1902 – verb, of an engine, to ignite prematurely, in Kipling.^[2]
• 1912 – verb, of a plan, to recoil on its originator.^[3]
• 1925 – noun, figurative.^[2]
• 1977 – slang, to break wind.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A premature explosion of fuel, or of unburned exhaust gases, in an internal-combustion engine, usually with a loud bang: The old truck's backfire startled the horses.^[8][4][2]
2. The backward escape of gases or cartridge fragments when a gun is fired.^[8]
3. A fire set on purpose in the path of an advancing wildfire to burn up its fuel and so check it.^[8][4][2]
4. An unexpected and unwelcome result; a vigorous countermovement.^[4][2]

Verb

1. Of an engine or a firearm, to have a backfire.^[8][4][2]
2. To have the opposite of the intended effect, especially by harming the person responsible: His attempt to embarrass his rival backfired badly.^[4][3]
3. To set a fire ahead of an advancing fire in order to check it.^[4][2]

Related words

• back
• fire

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
8. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt