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Definitions

backfire

[bak-fahyuhr] / ˈbækˌfaɪər /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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During the first hour, pine grove owners urged fire commanders to light a backfire a few hundred yards from Le Porge.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 30, 2026

Telling people what they should and shouldn’t do can backfire.

From MarketWatch Aug. 18, 2026

But there’s no way this could possibly backfire, right?

From Salon Aug. 17, 2026

But marketing buzz can fade, and poor perceptions regarding quality and sustainability can backfire on a company.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 7, 2026

I realize this could all backfire terribly, but it feels like my only option.

From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak

The company has long relied on this high-yielding equity as its primary engine to bankroll Bitcoin acquisitions—a strategy that backfires when the shares lose ground.

From Barron's Jun. 26, 2026

All of the above comes with a caveat: Unbridled choice often backfires.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 14, 2026

"Discord could lose users if its implementation of age verification backfires, but it could equally attract more new users who will be drawn to its new standards for online safety by design," he said.

From BBC Feb. 9, 2026

Officers potentially wasting thousands of hours in pursuit of car backfires and construction noise mislabeled as gunfire has not deterred the New York Police Department from continuing to use it.

From Salon Feb. 8, 2026

While groans, fiendish gurglings and backfires were emitting from the barn, the house itself would be organized confusion, as the family carried out its preparations in accordance with prearranged plans.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

That $2.4 billion deal has backfired on Dick’s Sporting Goods.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 25, 2026

The last time they tried, it backfired spectacularly.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 21, 2026

But a police crackdown on crowds marching towards parliament on July 20 backfired, galvanising support for the movement and transforming anger over exam leaks into a broader expression of youth frustration.

From Barron's Jul. 29, 2026

The chain has experienced other problems as well, including remodels that backfired, agitation among activist investors and same-store sales that have wobbled over Masino’s three-year tenure.

From MarketWatch Jul. 28, 2026

Seemed like Dad’s plan to show up Eugene Hammond had backfired on us all.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Nestlé tweaked its portfolio, but investors say some acquisitions were a distraction, backfiring as the company expanded into non-core areas.

From Barron's Jun. 10, 2026

The critics argue Lemssouguer relies heavily on borrowed money, or leverage, to boost profits, a strategy prone to backfiring.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 4, 2026

Sullivan warned that changes to VA policy that take decision-making out of veterans’ control is a risk that could seriously backfiring.

From Salon Mar. 14, 2026

At around that time, those price increases started backfiring.

From MarketWatch Nov. 25, 2025

The only problem being, of course, that whenever you ran an operation that was not aboveboard there was a certain risk of it backfiring into a worse situation than it had been before.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols




Vocabulary lists containing backfire


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