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brushfire

brush fire
B b

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [bruhsh-fahyuh r]
    • /ˈbrʌʃˌfaɪər/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [bruhsh-fahyuh r]
    • /ˈbrʌʃˌfaɪər/

Definitions of brushfire word

  • noun brushfire a fire in bushes and scrub 3
  • noun brushfire a minor local war 3
  • noun brushfire a fire in an area of bushes, shrubs, or brush, as distinct from a forest fire. 1
  • noun brushfire any small but persistent problem, as within a large organization, a department of a government, or between nations: border skirmishes and other international brush fires. 1
  • adjective brushfire limited in scope, area, or importance, as some labor disputes or local skirmishes. 1
  • noun brushfire A large fire in a scrubland or prairie, as opposed to a forest fire, which happens in forests. 0

Information block about the term

Origin of brushfire

First appearance:

before 1770
One of the 46% newest English words
An Americanism dating back to 1770-80

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Brushfire

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

brushfire popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 32% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

brushfire usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for brushfire

noun brushfire

  • conflagration — A conflagration is a fire that burns over a large area and destroys property.

See also

Matching words

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